Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[Lirio]

1 hour ago, Camillus112 said:

Lirio...Brazil (Or Brasiu, as I've heard it pronounced)!!  An unfortunate medical condition has always prevented me from visiting your lovely country.  I made research into Carmen Miranda and wonder if the new museum was actually opened.  If interested, here is a You Tube performance of my text in music.

 

https://cmu.app.box.com/s/loolot23hybracli9bcwraxyj0aq1146

 

Museu Carmem Miranda is closed for some years. I hope you get better and can come to visit Brazil.

[spinnaker2]

[jpalbny]

New Mexico, Day 3. (Wednesday, January 12). 

 

We slept in so that we could have breakfast at the Sawmill Market again before leaving Albuquerque for points South. With more delicious coffee and pastries in our bellies, we checked out of our lovely hotel and set course for the southern part of New Mexico.

 

We stopped about an hour into the trip for a quick visit at the Mineral Museum, at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology on the New Mexico Tech campus. East to get to, free, and beautiful minerals, crystals, geodes, etc. Great stop. We were done in about 30 minutes.

There were signs to the VLA (Very Large Array) radio telescope but it was 50 miles out of our way so we skipped that.

 

A little further down the I-25, we got off in San Antonio for a visit to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Reserve. Lakes in the middle of the desert? And we saw a Great Blue Heron. Just not close enough for my cell phone to zoom in.

 

 

Further along, we saw many birds in the fields. They were Sandhill Cranes! Tons of them.

 

 

We spent about an hour driving along the park, enjoying the wildlife and doing a few short hikes. A very pleasant stop along the way.

 

Back to San Antonio to catch the I-25. We stopped for lunch at the Owl Bar & Cafe, which claimed to have the best hamburgers in town. They were tasty, and fast. We were in and out in less than 30 minutes! Green chile cheeseburgers hit the spot. And hand-cut fries. Yum!

 

Now the longest part of our drive. We had really wanted to see the Gila Cliff Dwellings but they were just too far away. So we drove 2-1/2 hours to City of Rocks State Park instead.

 

We got there about 3:45 as the afternoon sun started to slip into a thin layer of high clouds. We started with a trail around the perimeter, to see some of the rock formations from afar.

 

 

The place has been made into a giant campground, among a huge pile of rocks. It's a pretty cool sight. From the perimeter trail, a bit of an overview. Love the mountain in the background.

 

 

Here is a typical campsite. It seemed about 50% occupied. 

 

 

The sun was getting low on the horizon.

 

 

A beautiful time to be here though, as the rocks were nicely lit by the evening rays.

 

 

And very few others around to get in the way of our pictures.

 

 

 

We hiked up to the top of the rock pile then down through a rough path, above the campsites. 

 

 

 

But we still have 1-1/2 hours to go before we get to our hotel. And it's going to be dark soon. So we'd better get a move on.

 

 

Come on Chris, stop posing with the rocks. We have a long drive ahead of us!

 

 

One last stop at a scenic viewpoint above the site, then we made a run for it. Next stop, Las Cruces!

 

 

We made it there a little after 6:30. We had reserved a junior suite at the Hotel Encanto, but they upgraded us to the Presidential suite! So we had a regular hotel room, then another whole room next door with a full living and dining room. Looks very nice!

 

 

A very beautiful property. Here is the main lobby.

 

 

After all of that driving we were too lazy to go out for dinner, so we ate at the hotel restaurant. The food and wine were very good, even though the service was odd. We ordered an appetizer and two mains, plus wine. The wine came quickly. The three food items took a while and came pretty much all at once. All was very tasty though and we were happy with the quality. And even happier that we didn't have to drive anywhere.

 

Tomorrow we will head to the Northeast and visit White Sands. Then we'll see what else we're up for.

Edited January 24, 2022 by jpalbny

[FlyingScotSailors]

2 hours ago, jpalbny said:

We stopped about an hour into the trip for a quick visit at the Mineral Museum, at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology on the New Mexico Tech campus. East to get to, free, and beautiful minerals, crystals, geodes, etc. Great stop. We were done in about 30 minutes.

Another beautiful collection of minerals, and suitable for a "shorter trip", is in the New York State Museum on Madison Avenue.  Maybe a lunchtime visit?

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

Have a great safe fun day all!

[zqtchas]

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great safe fun day all!

[zqtchas]

[jpalbny]

37 minutes ago, zqtchas said:

 

This is a great cartoon. I saw it some time ago and tried to identify the characters, all of whom would have something to do with an apple.

 

I figured out most of them except for the man and woman in blue, near the bottom left. I remembered the story, once I knew the characters, but the story is quite old so perhaps obscure. 

[mysty]

18 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

This is a great cartoon. I saw it some time ago and tried to identify the characters, all of whom would have something to do with an apple.

 

I figured out most of them except for the man and woman in blue, near the bottom left. I remembered the story, once I knew the characters, but the story is quite old so perhaps obscure. 

 

I think the man is William Tell next to his son.  We have been scratching our heads over the woman in blue.   Maybe Alice in Wonderland but I don't think she had an apple. 

[dawntrdr]

16 minutes ago, mysty said:

We have been scratching our heads over the woman in blue.

This may be obscure, but I would say it is Atalanta from greek mythology, who agreed to marry the man who could outrun her in a footrace.  The successful suitor beat her because he threw a golden apple for her to pick up every time she passed him and that slowed her down.

[jpalbny]

So the obvious ones on the right. Adam, Eve, and the snake. William Tell at the head of the table and his son on the top left.

 

Newton and Snow White finish up the right side. Bill Gates is at the foot of the table. A funny jab at Microsoft, saying that he wants an Apple!

 

The evil queen across from Snow White gave her the apple.

 

The two remaining characters could definitely be Atalanta and her suitor, and some have guessed that. But (supposedly) the artist says they are meant to be Paris and Aphrodite. 

[mysty]

9 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

So the obvious ones on the right. Adam, Eve, and the snake. William Tell at the head of the table and his son on the top left.

 

Newton and Snow White finish up the right side. Bill Gates is at the foot of the table. A funny jab at Microsoft, saying that he wants an Apple!

 

The evil queen across from Snow White gave her the apple.

 

The two remaining characters could definitely be Atalanta and her suitor, and some have guessed that. But (supposedly) the artist says they are meant to be Paris and Aphrodite. 

I think it is Robin Hood at the head of the table.   Crossbow is near the foot of the chair next to the young lad and William Tell who is next to the blond woman.  😁

[Daveywavey70]

Evening all. Home safe and sound. What a glorious adventure that was!

 

[TrulyBlonde]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

 

This is a great cartoon. I saw it some time ago and tried to identify the characters, all of whom would have something to do with an apple.

 

I figured out most of them except for the man and woman in blue, near the bottom left. I remembered the story, once I knew the characters, but the story is quite old so perhaps obscure. 

JP...the blonde woman is me in my prior life!  The tales I could tell 😉

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Evening all. Home safe and sound. What a glorious adventure that was!

 

Hi DW, glad you had such a good time🙂.....looks like you were on Crystal's last sailing.

[Capri73]

Happy you are home safe and that you had a good time.

[Lvshack]

3 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Evening all. Home safe and sound. What a glorious adventure that was!

 

Glad to hear your home safely.. I know it's sad about crystal but I didn't want you jumping ship🚢...

[Daveywavey70]

Thanks guys. I’ve thrown together a quick roundup video tonight of the last couple of weeks. More to follow.

 

 

[Stumblefoot]

5 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Evening all. Home safe and sound. What a glorious adventure that was!

Did you contribute to the Crystal fuel welfare fund?

[Daveywavey70]

1 hour ago, Stumblefoot said:

Did you contribute to the Crystal fuel welfare fund?

No I just Went to the Casino instead, won 7 black chips and shared it out as best I could amongst the crew. 

[Daveywavey70]

I was quite surprised just to find this ad show up on my fb page. 
https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=6714

[Stumblefoot]

39 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

I was quite surprised just to find this ad show up on my fb page. 

The Wavey Dave; Rockstar.

[Daveywavey70]

1 hour ago, Stumblefoot said:

The Wavey Dave; Rockstar.

Absolutely Mr Fumblesoot. 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great safe fun day all!