#55worktoplay

3 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Just got to see Kenzie!  She is helping with the flowers again today. 

Not only is she the sweetest child she is always so genuinely happy.  

5 hours ago, tsahall01 said:

I was thinking the same thing!!  Fairly new lurker here--I've followed along with Megan's and Jamman's latest reviews and have read a few of Sid's reviews--this led me to the first tribe post here--I'm up to page 623--Have a ways to go!  My husband would come home and see me sobbing over some of the trials and tribulations that were experienced in that post.  I also meandered over to the Ms Mary posts--talk about sobbing!  My eyes were swollen!  Once I finish the first Tribe post, I will start at the beginning of this one!  Good thing I'm retired!

Oh boy you have been doing some reading 😀. 
 

Welcome!

I always wanted to try HAL what ship?  I want to bring my dog 

7 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Free Lunch Friday from Outback Steakhouse. 

 

Is it time to go home yet?

 

 

 

 

 

The meatloaf looks burnt??

26 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

Is it customary to tip the valet driver? If so, how much is typical? 

5-10 each way seems reasonable to me.

1 hour ago, livetocruise2005 said:

I found a Norwegian Cruise that works in the middle.  It leaves the day after we get to Barcelona and it goes to Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Greece, and Croatia, and ends in Trieste for Venice. We get to spend 5 days in Venice before flying back to Barcelona to join the Mardi Gras on the trip back.  We are really liking that Carnival is doing so many of these for their Dry docks.

Sounds amazing. 

4 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

She’s good. Thanks! We’ve made it almost a week. She hates the car and when the kids leave. She’s house broken… whimpers and heads to the back door. She is a little bit of a chewer… but I can sub out a shoe or sock for one of her toys pretty quickly and she hasn’t torn anything up so far. The kids love her minus the howling in the car. 

We have a new pup too she is quite a ball of energy. She is also a chewer but like you said pretty easy to distract.

She doesn’t mind the car but she is spooked by airplanes in the sky and they are working in the field beside our house with heavy machinery so spooked by that too. She refuses to go outside we have to coax her with treats and even then it is a challenge.  We both have to go out with her.

She’s quite a chicken which bothers me because we go in the motorhome to car races and not only is it loud but there are always fireworks.  Yikes!  I guess we will keep our fingers crossed but not looking very favourable.

6 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Lighthouse beacon decided not to work last night.  We had the most beautiful starry night sky.

 

Today was hot & sunny and  we visited Hawks Nest, an hour south of the Lighthouse (2 1/2hrs north of Sydney) - a lovely small beach community that we used to holiday at regularly when the kids were very little. Back then Hawks Nest/Tea Gardens were known for their koala community and we would see them in the trees, after we crossed the singing bridge.  There are still signs up warning “koalas cross here” but the koala community has been decimated by loss of their habitat for development.

 

The beach though is still as beautiful as ever.  We didn’t spot any dolphins today but they are usually seen in the waters here.

 

 

An old sign in a parcel of bush habitat that remains.
 

 

That’s sad about the Koala population. 

10 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Yes, they tied it in last night about 1am. Then replaced the pole today about 11am. I used that time as my lunch break and took Sadie to town to get a few things. 

WOW that is scary good thing for him to be okay. Most don’t survive power poles. 
 

How is Sadie?  I may have missed it but how did the kids react?  They didn’t know if I’m not mistaken. 

@ceilidh1  I’m so happy for you and your son and daughter. That extra will mean so much to you all. 
 

Good things happen to good people and you deserve every bit of good that comes your way. 
 

Yaye!  P.S. Is a cruise upcoming to celebrate?  Whoops I didn’t read far enough. 

Looking forward to following you virtually!

Enjoy!

1 hour ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Been blessed with beautiful weather for our mini break.

 

Up early for  sunrise at the Lighthouse.  Photo’s aren’t spectacular but it was nice to have it to ourselves.

 

 

 

 

Walking up this steep path to reach the Lighthouse several times a day has been a good workout
 

After sunrise, we walked 1.5km to the closest coffee source - a little caravan open at 7.30am.  Early morning views.

 

 

 

 

Then because it was beautiful weather, we checked out the beaches.

 

First one had a dingo roaming, so we gave that a miss. No photo as we didn’t want to get close.

 

We drove a fair distance to Booti Booti NP and saw this guy making the most of the bench near the outdoor beach  showers

 

Nearby was Blueys Beach (22km from the Lighthouse) we drove here because DH wanted to try a particular cafe  for lunch.

 

 

Then headed back towards the Lighthouse and No1 Beach is where we spent the afternoon swimming.  Water temperature was lovely.

 

Boat Beach has the most beautiful blues.
 

 

Finally, tonight’s  sunset from the headland near our cottage.

 

Hoping all the World Cruisers have a lovely day in my home city, Sydney, tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

What beautiful scenery and looks like a great place to stay. Great pictures. 

@Funsince1983  I’m sending you thoughts and wishing you all the best during these tough times. 

5 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

Good (?) Morning?

 

Did you buy them?  

@princess76021  Princess, sending you lots of hugs from Canada.  
 

53 yrs is a long time and of course you are expected to have your ups and downs, hopefully as time passes it gets easier but in the meantime let’s those tears roll.
 

I’m sure he is sending you lots of love from above and coaxing you to join some of the Tribe on one of the many cruises they are going on.  I am certain any one of this great group of people would take you under their wings if needed.  Can’t forget the solo cruiser with the mobile bar who seems to cruise every 2-3 weeks.  You can have the physical “oh crap” button for him versus the virtual one😀

Take care!

9 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Been a minute since I've had my new car for a few weeks.  Love it more now, as I've become used to it.  Honda just builds really good cars.

 

Anyway, mentioned I had stuck a "For Sale" sign in my former sled, the Acura.  Clean, nice care, well over 100K miles on the odd.  Well taken care of.  

 

But, since I've had my new ride, I haven't driven it much give I prefer the Accord.

 

Anyway, ran errands this weekend in the Acura with the For Sale sign prominently displayed.  Was coming out of Lowes and saw a guy and a young girl looking at it.  I approached, told him it was my car.  He asked if he could sit in it.  Sure!

 

I'm glad I detailed it a week or so ago.  It looked shiny and the interior smelled good as I put leather softener on the seats, which had a leather smell on top of the leather smelling like....well....leather.

 

Guy was shopping for his daughter.  He said he was looking at Civics, Corollas, etc.  But, mine caught his eye as he was passing by it.

 

I thought he was just kicking tires, as being approached in Lowes to sell/buy a car was not what I'd consider "normal".

 

I could tell his daughter was enamored with the car.

 

We all got in.  I started it up for them.  Played the stereo (which is killer in the older Acuras).  That really put his daughter over the edge.

 

He wanted to drive it on the spot.  I was skeptical and told him as much.  He said if it "checked out" he'd buy it.   I had all the service receipts in a manilla folder and showed them to him...oil changes, tires, brakes, battery, etc.  All done at the dealership.  H

 

I had it since new, no wrecks, no rips, no errors.  A few stone chips here and there,  One of the wheels had curb rash.  Aside from that, it was ready to go.

 

Daughter was maybe 17?  18?  19?.  

 

Never one to dilly about when it comes to a good opportunity, I said "sure".  Let's go for a ride.  First up, was the Father.  With me sitting in the back seat, him in the driver's seat, daughter in the passenger's seat, off we went.  He gave it a drive for about 2 miles in the area around Lowes (as all areas around Lowes tends to be nothing but coffee shops, fast food places, etc).  Traffic was heavy.  

 

He asked if we could take it on the highway.  "Sure"!  Off we went to the on ramp.  If there's one thing that's impressive about Hondas/Acuras, is the smoothness and the sound of their engines.  This V6 was no slouch.  He punched it, V-TEC kicked in and the sound of "WHAAAAAAAAAAA" to redline before shifts threw him back in the seat.  He smiled, his daughter smiled.

 

We pulled off the interstate and it was the daughter's turn.  She was much, much more sedate driving it  back to Lowes.  She touched all the buttons after we parked while the Father looked under the car for leaks.

 

Chatted about price.  I wasn't going to try to get rich on it, but it is a very nice car, albeit about 13 years old and the odometer had clicked over.  But, it's one owner, all receipts, and really needed nothing.

 

It helped my cause that the daughter kept whispering "Daddy...please"!  Attagirl!  

 

Anyway, I gave him a small discount ($250) off my asking price, which was on the high end of all the car pricing guides.  Told him it was an all cash deal.  He agreed, but couldn't get to the bank until today.

 

He said he'd be back Monday (today).  He gave me 5 crips Benjamins to hold the car.  OK, then...game on. I have him a hand written receipt from a page in a little spiral bound lined notebook I kept in the glove compartment.  It had been in there for years, you know..."just in case".  Never used it once.....until then.

 

He called an hour ago wanting to know if they could come pick up the car.  Ends up, he only lives about 20 minutes from me.  Banks aren't open yet, but sure....!  I figured we'd go to the bank together.  NOPE.  He had all cash.  Yippee!  

 

We just returned from the BMV.  Took my tags off, transferred his tags.  Signed the title over to him  And, we shook hands.  He gave me a ride home, and I'm posting here.

 

Easy-Peezy..Lemon Squeezy!  

 

Sometimes everything just works out right.

 

 

 

 

Sounds like a perfect transaction and the daughter must be beaming. 

9 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

Well, it was a sad day here for us. I got a call at work that Pirate, one of my very first horses, was down, groaning and thrashing around. I quickly balanced myself for the day and left, changed into barn clothes and got to the barn. Vet came and said that he was colicking and she suspected a tumor had caused his intestine to twist and die off. She said we could try surgery, but that honestly at his age it wasn’t a good prognosis, so we had to say our goodbyes. 😞

A few pics of my pretty old guy…he was the handsome one in my herd. 

I’m so very sorry for your loss. Hugs being sent. 

8 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Here are pics from yesterday.  Kenzie slept over 😴 Sunday night. 

 

I love her expressions not to mention she is always dressed like a fashionista. John, Thank you for sharing. My thoughts and prayers are with you.  Cheers to milkshakes!

6 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

Sid, that dinner looks delicious. I love lobster mac & cheese, and that looks like a proper dish of it!

 

The meds seem to be working, I think I am slowly getting better. I am optimistic I will be able to go on my cruise on March 10. I think some fresh ocean air and a week of lounging on my Havana patio with a good book is just what I need to recharge my batteries!

Glad to hear you are starting to feel better. 

8 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Has anyone had experience redeeming expired Disneyland tickets? In perhaps the worst timing ever, I bought DL tickets just weeks before the 2020 shutdown for a planned summer 2020 trip, which of course didn't happen. We have been thinking about trying to use them next year, since they do retain indefinitely the original value spent. The reservation system has been our main obstacle, since in the beginning it didn't work with expired tickets. Even the DL employee I spoke to told me I'd have to show up in person without advance reservations to redeem the tickets, and just hope there was space for us in the parks that day.

 

It's been a couple of years since I checked, so I tried again recently. The website actually still recognizes our tickets. I went through the process of a mock reservation online, all the way up to the final "confirm" button, and it looked like it was going to work. Has anyone else actually done this?

I just did it for DW the originals were purchased in 2002 with no expiration date. I had suspicions that they would never find them but they did and all was fine. Good Luck!

Thanks to both you and Patti for a wonderful review and pictures. I hope to meet you both someday. 

1 minute ago, George C said:

They checked everything, luckily back pain is almost totally gone , but feel a light headed , so unfortunately cancelled the Wednesday and Friday reservations so no martinis or old fashions this week . 

Well it’s best to get rest so you make your cruise.   I hope you feel better soon. 

@dani negreanu  Dani, so sorry to hear about your dear friend Alex. I hope that PT and rehab gets him back into good shape for his upcoming cruise. 
 

@Sea Dog  Greg, I’m so dry you are going through health issues. I am glad they saw this sooner rather then later so treatment can be administered and get you back in good shape quicker. 

@George CGeorge, that must have been scary. Did they check your sugar levels?  I hope it’s not anything serious and does not happen again. Drink your water 😀

Have a great time. 

3 hours ago, Pochi Hanaki said:

 

That is crazy insane price when it used to be so much cheaper. No way I am eating there with my family. Not paying $68 for hamburgers. 

It was 5.00 at one time.