Cunard Cruisers - How are things where you are ?

[Jim9310]

39 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Where on the Cape?— I spent a number of August weeks at Corn Hill in Truro.

In Truro, four miles north of Corn Hill. 

I like Corn Hill.  It's the place where Mayflower's pilgrims discovered a stash of Indian corn and took it back to their ship.

[Colin_Cameron]

54 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Where on the Cape?— I spent a number of August weeks at Corn Hill in Truro.

Funny you should say that. I’m sitting here with my Truro Wineries glass in my hand. Although that’s not what’s in it.

[navybankerteacher]

4 hours ago, Jim9310 said:

In Truro, four miles north of Corn Hill. 

I like Corn Hill.  It's the place where Mayflower's pilgrims discovered a stash of Indian corn and took it back to their ship.

Yes - an interesting first interaction:    those thieving  Pilgrims looted the winter food stores of the locals.  And their descendants were oblivious enough to raise a monument commemorating the event.

[Jim9310]

4 hours ago, Colin_Cameron said:

Funny you should say that. I’m sitting here with my Truro Wineries glass in my hand. Although that’s not what’s in it.

 

Did your glass come from here?

TRURO VINYARDS OF CAPE COD

[Colin_Cameron]

5 hours ago, Jim9310 said:

Did your glass come from here?

TRURO VINYARDS OF CAPE COD

It did. We visited in October 2013. We spent a couple of nights at Chatham during a tour of New England. And were on our way back from a day trip up to Provincetown.

[Jim9310]

5 hours ago, Colin_Cameron said:

It did. We visited in October 2013. We spent a couple of nights at Chatham during a tour of New England. And were on our way back from a day trip up to Provincetown.

 

 

October is usually a lovely time to visit Outer Cape Cod, because spring arrives quite late and autumn persists longer than on the mainland.  Those who have crossed the Atlantic at various times of the year will understand why. 

 

Water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and Cape Cod Bay vary significantly (4 - 20 Centigrade) throughout the year, and it’s warmer in October than in May.  Of course, daytime sunshine is warmer and and lasts longer in May than October.

 

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Jim9310

[LewiLewi]

19 hours ago, Jim9310 said:

BEACH PLUMS IN BLOOM TODAY - CAPE COD BAY

Love Cape Cod. We honeymooned there almost 60 years ago. It is still a beautiful place to visit.

[Bigmike911]

The US CDC has removed virtually all Covid restrictions for masks wearing outdoor and indoors and social distancing requirements for fully vaccinated Americans. 

 

This is a watershed event. It should have several immediate effects. First, the hesitancy of those who have put off the vaccine, because until now Federal Government Actions  have suggested that there would be no change for vaxxed people and that has been blown up so hopefully more people who were resisting will be now get vaccinated.

 

And secondly, local government restrictions and those of private companies will be harder to apply. And finally the CDC restrictions on the Cruise industry should be immediately modified if all crew and passengers are fully vaccinated. This feels almost 'normal'.

[frankp01]

48 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

The US CDC has removed virtually all Covid restrictions for masks wearing outdoor and indoors and social distancing requirements for fully vaccinated Americans. 

Not quite *all* restrictions.  So, in a bar: no mask. On the train: must mask. I don't think the CDC will be able to maintain those distinctions for long, however.

 

Masks will still be required in airports, bus terminals, and train stations, as well as on planes, trains, and buses, for the near future. The federal mask mandate has not been lifted for travelling. 

[navybankerteacher]

13 hours ago, Jim9310 said:

 

October is usually a lovely time to visit Outer Cape Cod, because spring arrives quite late and autumn persists longer than on the mainland.  Those who have crossed the Atlantic at various times of the year will understand why. 

 

Water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and Cape Cod Bay vary significantly (4 - 20 Centigrade) throughout the year, and it’s warmer in October than in May.  Of course, daytime sunshine is warmer and and lasts longer in May than October.

 

 

I always found that the ocean side beaches - Ballston and Coast Guard, for example, had somewhat warmer water than the bay side - Corn Hill and Great Hollow.  I may be wrong, but I think it might be a bit of the Gulf Stream brushing the ocean side while a tad of the Labrador current (which makes Maine unswimmable, except by little children whose nervous systems are not fully on line) dips into the Bay.

 

I do remember always digging up surf clams with my children before leaving the beach to bring back to the cottage for chowder — and picking blueberries on the old railroad embankment by the Pamet River.   Three of my four children now bring their lots to Truro each summer.

[Jim9310]

14 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I always found that the ocean side beaches - Ballston and Coast Guard, for example, had somewhat warmer water than the bay side - Corn Hill and Great Hollow.  I may be wrong, but I think it might be a bit of the Gulf Stream brushing the ocean side while a tad of the Labrador current (which makes Maine unswimmable, except by little children whose nervous systems are not fully on line) dips into the Bay.

 

I do remember always digging up surf clams with my children before leaving the beach to bring back to the cottage for chowder — and picking blueberries on the old railroad embankment by the Pamet River.   Three of my four children now bring their lots to Truro each summer.

The warm Gulf Stream and cold Labrador current are major factors.  North Atlantic’s seasonal variations are larger on the American side than the European side.

Here’s today’s Atlantic Ocean water temperature chart.   Deep green surrounds Cape Cod and most of the UK (9C / 50F).   Gulf reds are approaching and Labrador blues are retreating. 

 

[Tonopah]

Hi, everyone. I haven’t been on CC for a year now. It seems things may slowly be loosening up. We are all vaxed and healthy here, finally. It took me awhile to get through this thread and sorry, but I skipped the end of March and all of April. You all are quite talkative. Maybe, like us, you’re ready to get out and GO.

 

Mister and I are looking at a Southampton/Norway/Northern Lights/Southampon cruise on QM2 November 2022. It will be nice to have something to look forward to. In the meantime we’ll be taking a near-staycation in Miami for a few days.

 

Any idea what the weather will be like in Norway in November? We’re Floridians so brrrrr. 🥶

[Lanky Lad]

Hi Tonopah and welcome to the thread.

 

Norway in November should be around freezing. You need it cold to have a good chance of seeing the Aurora.  If you go and there is a concert at the church in Tromso I recommend it.

[Host Hattie]

Mixed feelings today, we should have been sailing on Queen Elizabeth from Southampton so I made do with a trip to a damp Milford Haven.

In better news Mr HH had his second Covid jab this afternoon.

[Bigmike911]

Yesterday on my weekly visit to the barber, I followed the usual protocol. Signed in, waited  on the porch outdoors for my barber to call me, put on my mask and went in. After I was seated in the chair the barber said you can remove your mask if you wish since you are fully vaccinated.

 

So for the first time in more than 15 months my barber was able to trim my facial hair. I had been doing it myself and it was never pretty, but it was more or less functional. To have a professional trim was one of those simple but watershed moments in coming out of the dark time we have been in.

 

Over the past three days we have had more than 4.5 inches of rain. The lawn is soaked and will take several days to dry, but it looks like more rain tonight, tomorrow and the weekend. Well, I remind myself it is free water. Lets hope it will be dry enough to enjoy Memorial Day 31st May (the same as your UK late May Bank Holiday) out doors.

 

I see in the Wall Street Journal that Europe is opening for vaccinated people. Eventually the US will be included. I have been tracking the vaccinations in Texas, prior to the CDC update on masks they were doing about 85,000 doses per day. After the announcement it jumped to 250,000 each day. And I am seeing more people aged less than 16 being included. It's progress.

 

My August 2022 voyages are looking better all the time. 

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

Yesterday on my weekly visit to the barber…

…Weekly?   Weekly?   WEEKLY????

2 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

 

My August 2022 voyages are looking better all the time. 

I share your optimism concerning second half 2022 sailings -  but I profoundly resent your boastful suggestion that you need weekly visits to a barber.

[Bigmike911]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

…Weekly?   Weekly?   WEEKLY????

I share your optimism concerning second half 2022 sailings -  but I profoundly resent your boastful suggestion that you need weekly visits to a barber.

Nothing boastful NBT. I have short white hair, that tends to stand up in a disheveled manner if not tamed. And not all parts of my scalp grow at the same rate. So after two weeks, it looks like a poorly mown lawn. I can go ten days, but as my barber works only Wednesday and Saturday since the pandemic left the shop with more barbers than customers. I have to go on Wednesday, because Saturday is family day, and I would have to wait for hours. They don't take appointments so it's first come, first served. 

[navybankerteacher]

13 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

Nothing boastful NBT. I have short white hair, that tends to stand up in a disheveled manner if not tamed. And not all parts of my scalp grow at the same rate. So after two weeks, it looks like a poorly mown lawn. …

So you do not see Boris Johnson as your role model.

[Bigmike911]

10 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

So you do not see Boris Johnson as your role model.

No, I don't think so. Though one really wonders about Boris' hair and why. 

[navybankerteacher]

8 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

No, I don't think so. Though one really wonders about Boris' hair and why. 

He does resemble the picture on the cover of a mid-nineteenth century German children's book:

"Struwwelpeter"   essentially "Shock-headed Peter" in English -- where "shock" means "haystack" --- if there ever was a haystack headed person, it has to be Boris.

[Bigmike911]

5 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

He does resemble the picture on the cover of a mid-nineteenth century German children's book:

"Struwwelpeter"   essentially "Shock-headed Peter" in English -- where "shock" means "haystack" --- if there ever was a haystack headed person, it has to be Boris.

Amen.

[majortom10]

They are a pair well matched Boris Johnson and Donald Trump neither great models for hair design.

[Host Hattie]

I finally got to the hairdresser for the first time since January 2020 & my head feels a lot lighter.

We've had terrible weather the last few days, at last we have a bit of sun. Another niece is staying in West Wales, hopefully she's enjoying the place a bit more today.

I bought this as part of a 3 for £2 book sale.

[Bigmike911]

39 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

I finally got to the hairdresser for the first time since January 2020 & my head feels a lot lighter.

We've had terrible weather the last few days, at last we have a bit of sun. Another niece is staying in West Wales, hopefully she's enjoying the place a bit more today.

I bought this as part of a 3 for £2 book sale.

Congratulations Host Hattie. I know how good that feels. 

[BklynBoy8]

I have the same book for the QM2.

 

And also a series of books like this when I bought them on the QE2 about the QE2.