The Daily for Wednesday Aug 19, 2020

[St Pete Cruiser]

Nice posts and pics everybody.

Thinking of the Rotterdam VI and my longest cruise aboard her, the 2014 African Explorer.

I do hope that Holland America removed most of the significant artworks before she was turned over.

[St Pete Cruiser]

Oops, the little pic is of one of the S class ships.

 

Here is the Rotterdam VI docked in the Cape Verde Islands, Mindelo I think.

[cat shepard]

28 minutes ago, GeorgesGal said:

Was the photo of the arches taken from the Cistern in Istanbul?

Yes, it was!

[dfish]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

That brings back great memories.  I grew up just outside Syracuse and I think the summer between my Sophomore and Junior years of high school my family vacationed there.  I was enrolled in summer school (I think driver ed) and could only spend the weekend there before catching a bus back home.  The following week was my first real week of independent living.  I returned 2 years later for my Senior class outing.

 

Roy

Roy, did you ever go to the Ausable Chasm in the Adirondacks?   It looks fabulous and I think I would love to visit.

 

https://www.ausablechasm.com/

 

[TiogaCruiser]

3 hours ago, rafinmd said:

I enjoy all the photos but especially those connected with this date.

 

Roy

That was taken 5 years ago. We had rented a cabin at Rock Creek Resort for the week to hike and celebrate our 25th anniversary. We even took a special picture at Heart Lake on the actual day.
 

The day before our anniversary while we were out hiking, a black bear broke into the cabin and gorged himself on much of our food. Luckily he tried, but couldn’t figure out, how to open the refrigerator or freezer, so we still had our steaks and wine to celebrate with. He managed to eat all the granola, bread, most of the dry rice and left a masterful muddy footprint on a bathroom towel on a shelf. The size of that print and the height of the shelf gave a size estimate. Apparently it was an adolescent male the owner had seen that afternoon hanging around the cabin.
 

The bear exited out the same bedroom window he used to enter, taking the curtain and a several pound (Costco) jar of mixed nut with him for a final snack. He tossed the empty jar in the driveway. The curtain must have just wrapped itself around his big self and it was left lying near the empty nut jar. Oh, he had fun!

Edited August 19, 2020 by TiogaCruiser

[rafinmd]

37 minutes ago, dfish said:

Roy, did you ever go to the Ausable Chasm in the Adirondacks?   It looks fabulous and I think I would love to visit.

 

https://www.ausablechasm.com/

 

I can't remember for sure but I think I made a whirlwind stop there once.  I think I remember being impressed and know the place has an excellent reputation.

 

Roy

[1ANGELCAT]

Good afternoon and thanks for the update.

We had a rainy cool morning but now it’s sunny. 
Going out for dinner tonight for my brother’s birthday. I keep remembering the many times we were celebrating it across the pond in Scotland and 1 year in Ireland. 
My photo of the day, NA docked in Key West Dec 8 2019.

[Sharon in AZ]

Thanks for the daily Rich!

 

Flying isn't something I do just to do, I fly to get somewhere I want to go.... like a cruise.  😉 

 

Love Potatoes.  In fact, we probably eat potatoes in whatever form as our most often eaten vegetable. 

 

Pesto Corn Salad with Shrimp sounds really yummy, I'll have to look that one up, and I think I might have all the ingredients.  However, we are having ribs tonight.  I had set them out trying to clear out the freezer before my next meat delivery and need to get them cooked and eaten.  I have them in the oven right now at 300 degrees for 2 hrs and will add sauce later and put them under the broiler to char up.  No grill tonight, to to to hot hot hot.  Last night on the news the weather person said we have broken 5 daily high records over the past 6 days.  Yikes! 

 

Loving all the pictures today!

 

And Joy!!!  I love your new profile pic!  You and Alan look the perfect couple and so adorable!

 

Have a great day everyone!   .....off to look for some photos for World Photo Day..........

[Sharon in AZ]

I couldn’t any pictures from August 19th but came across these and thought of Joy and her hummingbird bird bath. These are from last July/August during our annual stay at a cabin we rent on Mt Lemmon in the Catalina mountains nearby.






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[bennybear]

3 hours ago, cat shepard said:

 

That is the cisterns. Fascinating site. 

 

It blew me away.   Also site of one of the Dan Brown novels! 

[bennybear]

4 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

Definitely get to Herculaneum too.  It's smaller, but very much worth going to.  We had been to Pompeii twice before so chose this last time. 

 

 

I also highly recommend Oplontis or the Villa Poppi, thought to be Nero’s wife.  It is just a stop away from Pompeii and is an outstanding Unesco site that had under twenty people exploring it.  Just amazing frescoes and the size of her swimming pool!  👀

 

[bennybear]

Sorry didn’t realize photos were to be on this day!  So excited to see any travel photos!  Found these from our Med cruise, this is Corfu on one of the best excursions ever 

on today’s date!  And the only time we had an aft wrap!  Sigh!    

Edited August 19, 2020 by bennybear

[cat shepard]

1 hour ago, TiogaCruiser said:

That was taken 5 years ago. We had rented a cabin at Rock Creek Resort for the week to hike and celebrate our 25th anniversary. We even took a special picture at Heart Lake on the actual day.
 

The day before our anniversary while we were out hiking, a black bear broke into the cabin and gorged himself on much of our food. Luckily he tried, but couldn’t figure out, how to open the refrigerator or freezer, so we still had our steaks and wine to celebrate with. He managed to eat all the granola, bread, most of the dry rice and left a masterful muddy footprint on a bathroom towel on a shelf. The size of that print and the height of the shelf gave a size estimate. Apparently it was an adolescent male the owner had seen that afternoon hanging around the cabin.
 

The bear exited out the same bedroom window he used to enter, taking the curtain and a several pound (Costco) jar of mixed nut with him for a final snack. He tossed the empty jar in the driveway. The curtain must have just wrapped itself around his big self and it was left lying near the empty nut jar. Oh, he had fun!

Wow!

[Seasick Sailor]

46 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

 

 

And Joy!!!  I love your new profile pic!  You and Alan look the perfect couple and so adorable!

 

Thank you Sharon. It was taken last September at a winery outside of Quebec. Took the Quebec to Boston cruise on (another.. gasp!) cruise line.

[cat shepard]

32 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

I couldn’t any pictures from August 19th but came across these and thought of Joy and her hummingbird bird bath. These are from last July/August during our annual stay at a cabin we rent on Mt Lemmon in the Catalina mountains nearby.






Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Ok, Sharon - these are special!

[Seasick Sailor]

37 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

I couldn’t any pictures from August 19th but came across these and thought of Joy and her hummingbird bird bath. These are from last July/August during our annual stay at a cabin we rent on Mt Lemmon in the Catalina mountains nearby.






Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

The hummingbird at sunset is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing! We know the Catalina mountains. We lived in Mesa when we worked for Boeing.

Edited August 19, 2020 by Seasick Sailor

[ger_77]

I recognized the cistern in Istanbul and Venice - you're right, the cistern is fascinating.  I felt like we were in Phantom of The Opera and there should be a gondola coming through the water.  The second time we were there, the power went out; now that was interesting!  Everyone went dead silent for about 10 seconds, then when we realized the lights weren't coming back on, the guides took out their cell phones (flip phones) and we exited with their assistance.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

 

[Mtn2Sea]

7 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

I recognized the cistern in Istanbul and Venice - you're right, the cistern is fascinating.  I felt like we were in Phantom of The Opera and there should be a gondola coming through the water.  The second time we were there, the power went out; now that was interesting!  Everyone went dead silent for about 10 seconds, then when we realized the lights weren't coming back on, the guides took out their cell phones (flip phones) and we exited with their assistance.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

 

You’re so right about the cistern being a fascinating place.  Several years ago we took Istanbul’s Tramway to get from the ship to the cistern/Hagia Sophia area.  That was our first time in using public transportation in a large foreign city.  I know some people think nothing about doing such things, but for us it was quite an adventure.  Hopefully, one day we can get back to Turkey.

[cat shepard]

21 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

I recognized the cistern in Istanbul and Venice - you're right, the cistern is fascinating.  I felt like we were in Phantom of The Opera and there should be a gondola coming through the water.  The second time we were there, the power went out; now that was interesting!  Everyone went dead silent for about 10 seconds, then when we realized the lights weren't coming back on, the guides took out their cell phones (flip phones) and we exited with their assistance.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

 

I was in Istanbul when it re-opened after the bombing near the German Fountain in 2016. And right before it shut down to tourism. 

 

We had the city to ourselves. I had not bothered to learn about the Cisterns before the tour. I can only imagine being there in the dark!

 

We needed to use up some OBC, so we purchased a tour that also included the Spice Market and a boat trip on the Bosphorous. There were 10 of us on a tour designed for 30 people. So I had a chance to ask many questions & learned a great deal on that tour.
 

I never felt uneasy, but there was a strong police presence everywhere, especially near Hagia Sophia & the Blue Mosque. I would love to return someday. The people of the city were so welcoming!

Edited August 19, 2020 by cat shepard

[Andi Land]

Good afternoon all!

 

Thank you for the Daily Rich.  😊

 

I’m not sure how many of you have seen the Disney movie Halloweentown but I live in the City where it was filmed. We have a yearly celebration that brings in people from all over. The City, in their lack of wisdom, is still planning to celebrate this year. So many people are upset by this and hope they change their minds. Anyway, that’s the long way Of sharing my picture for today. It’s town square and the Courthouse all decorated for Halloweentown. 

[rafinmd]

Volendam, Eurodam, and Westerdam have all changed their destination to Gibralter and appear to be headed around the Cape of Good Hope.

 

Roy

 

 

[rafinmd]

While reviewing my photos I found a poignant plaque from a Maasdam stairwell, celebrating her maiden call to the port of New York:

 

 

Roy

[richwmn]

38 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Volendam, Eurodam, and Westerdam have all changed their destination to Gibralter and appear to be headed around the Cape of Good Hope.

 

Roy

 

 

I just checked MT and CM. Both show Westerdam and Volendam with a destination of Gibraltar, with Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam still showing Durban. However, I suspect you are right and EDAM and NSDM are both headed for Gibraltar after a possible bunker stop at Durban. Vessel Finder also shows Durban for EDAM and NSDM.

Edited August 20, 2020 by richwmn

[Dismomx5]

Popped in to see all of the pictures. So many beautiful and different places in the world!

9 hours ago, dfish said:

Herculaneum is on my list of must visits.   I've been to Pompeii, but have read that Herculaneum is just as good.

We did Pompeii in the fall. When I heard about Herculaneum, I know that that is where I would go if we were ever to get back to that area. 

3 hours ago, cat shepard said:

I was in Istanbul when it re-opened after the bombing near the German Fountain in 2016. And right before it shut down to tourism. 

 

We had the city to ourselves. I had not bothered to learn about the Cisterns before the tour. I can only imagine being there in the dark!

 

We needed to use up some OBC, so we purchased a tour that also included the Spice Market and a boat trip on the Bosphorous. There were 10 of us on a tour designed for 30 people. So I had a chance to ask many questions & learned a great deal on that tour.
 

I never felt uneasy, but there was a strong police presence everywhere, especially near Hagia Sophia & the Blue Mosque. I would love to return someday. The people of the city were so welcoming!

In 2011/2012, I went to Cairo at Christmas/New Years to visit my daughter (Nile River cruise, as well). Because this was less than a year from the Egyptian revolution, there were very few tourists. Like you, it was great for us-personal service, no crowds-but my heart ached for the citizens who depended on tourism. When DH and I went back in the spring of 2016, things were still slow, but coming back. Last year, we didn't do any touristy things-we were there to greet, hold, and spoil our sweet  baby granddaughter.

[cat shepard]

53 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

While reviewing my photos I found a poignant plaque from a Maasdam stairwell, celebrating her maiden call to the port of New York:

 

 

Roy

The one picture I talked myself out of posting this morning is one that still gives me pause. Whoever took the picture on the plaque must have been close to the same spot in New York Harbor as I was when I took my picture. I think this was taken in June 1996.

Edited August 20, 2020 by cat shepard