The Daily for Tuesday Jan 19, 2021

[Cruising-along]

Today has turned into a Red Letter Day! 😀 Just now DD got both DH and me appointments for our vaccines on Feb. 1!  We have to drive to Tacoma, but really don't mind at all. It's worth it and could have been a lot further and a lot later.  Bless her heart, she worked hard on this for us. 

[Copper10-8]

9 hours ago, richwmn said:

today is New Friends Day, National Popcorn Day, and Good Memory Day............................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ger_77]

My goodness, it's a good news, bad news kind of day today!  I feel bad for @mamaofami's friends who are suffering; I have a friend with Parkinson's and dementia (although she's only 68, it's progressed rapidly), so worry for her just as you do.  And your friend with the blood clot; that's frightening!  @highland cruiser, I hope your DFIL will recover quickly and completely.  @kplady yikes, I hope your DS will be okay - even a minor collision from the rear can result in serious injury to neck and shoulders.  I speak from experience on that one.

 

Take care everyone, stay safe!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

 

[TiogaCruiser]

January 19, 2013

Drake Passage and the Antarctic Convergence

 

The wisdom about Drake Passage is you either get Drake Lake or Drake Shakes, meaning that either the water is quite calm (glassy) or it is Mr. Toad’s wild ride. The reason for such powerful storms is that below South America, there are no land masses to break up large waves or storms, so they continue to circle the globe and in no doing, can become huge. Veendam had suffered major damage 2 years prior when she and her sister ship Prinsendam got into a storm that created waves that swelled up to 90 feet high. Veendam took a hit to her bridge windows and ended up with plywood and lost over a million dollars in art work from the collection. There were some riveting descriptions on CC from pax. For us, our transit was closer on a Likert scale to Drake Lake. My journal records the foghorn blowing every 2 minutes to warn others of our presence, though it is not likely we would have encountered another vessel. Captain had requested we secure breakables in our cabins, and so I tucked my unopened bottle of Malbec into the spare bed. 😉

 

Toward the afternoon, the sea became lively and the doors to the LP were secured and all exterior decks were off limits. It was not really hard to walk, and the ship made shippy sounds as she happily rocked along. Later our Cruise Log would reflect that at noon we had near gale force winds with high seas and partly cloudy skies. So I guess you could say our Likert scale needle tipped toward Drake Shakes.  

 

Another milestone for us was crossing into the Antarctic Convergence around 2:30. This is a natural belt that defines the Antarctic climate zone. It extends with a width of about 20 miles and encircles the southern reaches of the earth where the climate zones meet: Frigid Antarctic waters collide with the warm waters of South America, eventually producing a water temperature of about 41 degrees F. The mixing waters also creates a very rich mixture of sea life that attracts whales and birds such as the Albatross that are hardy enough to venture his far. In this zone the animal species and water and air temperatures change. Entering the Convergence is akin to approaching tree line on the ascent of a mountain.

 

My notes reflect a visible change in the color of the water, with tones of purple and French ultramarine blue clearly visible.

[dfish]

Sneak preview!

[Copper10-8]

On the second day of Amsterdam's call, the ship's Human Resources Manager (HRM), a great lady from the UK by the name of Julie (she used to be a guest relations manager/GRM) had organized a crew tour to the Great Wall at Huangyaguan Changcheng (Huangya Pass). Located about 93 miles, about a 1 1/2 to 2-hour drive, from downtown Tianjin in Jixian Town, it is a day trip in itself, but definitely worth it since it’s not every day that you have a chance to climb a wartime relic constructed over 1,400 years ago. Huangya Pass was built under the North Qi Dynasty and was repeatedly damaged in countless horrendous battles but has since undergone renovations. The site lies on a steep and abrupt mountain ridge

 

We were in a total of three buses, all loaded with Amsterdam crew, and our first stop was a "comfort" stop at a roadway service station/superwarket (slight spelling error; check the pic 😉 )  where those not accustomed to Chinese "squat pans/toilets" had a personal encounter with them, very clean though and if you've been in the military on deployment in the bush, this will not be your first time 😉  

 

The ship had given us all lunch boxes which fit the bill. Our second stop was at the Dule Temple or "Temple of Solitary Joy," a Buddist temple located in the Jizhou District of suburban Tianjin. The temple is of historical as well as architectural significance. Its oldest surviving buildings are two timber-frame structures, the front gate and the central hall (pavilion) that houses a colossal clay statue of the goddess Guanyin. Both structures date back to the Liao dynasty (984 AD) and are among the oldest surviving wooden buildings in China.

Edited January 19, 2021 by Copper10-8

[Sharon in AZ]

Good afternoon everyone!  Thank you for the Daily Rich. And thank you everyone for your contributions. 
 

Because I started reading this earlier this morning I’ve forgotten what most the days are and the food and wine except memory day and that decedent cocktail that sounds like a dessert. 
 

My quiche was really good last night and I have more than enough for leftovers so froze half for a weekend lunch when I feel lazy. 
 

I still haven’t make a trip to the regular grocery store (Safeway) but I did go to Trader Joe’s this morning. As you enter there was a new sign:

 

 

I thought it was hilarious. 
 

Have a great day everyone!

[Sharon in AZ]

BTW, if anyone is interested I discovered yesterday that there are new episodes of “Last Tango in Halifax” on Netflix. (Halifax, England). I have to have the closed caption on to watch it but it’s fun and enjoyable to watch. 

[TiogaCruiser]

57 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

Good afternoon everyone!  Thank you for the Daily Rich. And thank you everyone for your contributions. 
 

Because I started reading this earlier this morning I’ve forgotten what most the days are and the food and wine except memory day and that decedent cocktail that sounds like a dessert. 
 

My quiche was really good last night and I have more than enough for leftovers so froze half for a weekend lunch when I feel lazy. 
 

I still haven’t make a trip to the regular grocery store (Safeway) but I did go to Trader Joe’s this morning. As you enter there was a new sign:

 

 

I thought it was hilarious. 
 

Have a great day everyone!

Now, if they enforce that!

 

Our church had a nice reminder sign up to wear said mask properly, as did our ToGos. I get the feeling people are getting fed up with the anti-maskers. 

I know I am. 

[St Pete Cruiser]

Just watched the tribute to the 400,000 who have died to covid in Washington.

It was very moving and the scenes of Washington as the sun was setting with the Capitol, the Washington Monunment and the Lincoln Memorial were beautiful.  

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

24 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Now, if they enforce that!

 

Our church had a nice reminder sign up to wear said mask properly, as did our ToGos. I get the feeling people are getting fed up with the anti-maskers. 

I know I am. 

A lot of the anti-maskers are at the shows here.  😱

[rafinmd]

One year ago today was a Sunday and I was in Long Beach awaiting departure on the Crystal Serenity's World Cruise.  I was staying on the original Queen Mary and was joined by @Copper10-8 and his lovey wife for Brunch the ship's Grand Salon.

 

In this exquisite setting we enjoyed an equally exquisite Buffet while accompanied by the music of a great band.

 

 

After our feast we spent an hour or two wandering around this classic ship.  A great afternoon.

 

Roy

[Copper10-8]

12 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

One year ago today was a Sunday and I was in Long Beach awaiting departure on the Crystal Serenity's World Cruise.  I was staying on the original Queen Mary and was joined by @Copper10-8 and his lovey wife for Brunch the ship's Grand Salon.

 

In this exquisite setting we enjoyed an equally exquisite Buffet while accompanied by the music of a great band.

 

 

After our feast we spent an hour or two wandering around this classic ship.  A great afternoon.

 

Roy

 

 

A great afternoon it was Roy! Thanks again for the very nice brunch on such a classic ship! The former Soviet Navy's Foxtrot-class diesel sub 'Scorpion,' not so much a classic ship and in not too good a shape 😉 

 

 

 

[kazu]

1 hour ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Just watched the tribute to the 400,000 who have died to covid in Washington.

It was very moving and the scenes of Washington as the sun was setting with the Capitol, the Washington Monunment and the Lincoln Memorial were beautiful.  

 

Nice to see a tribute at long last to all those people lost and have them seen as people not numbers. ❤️ 

[erewhon]

Thanks for the daily reports, photos and humour.

Today is the 20th January, a year ago we  were so pleased to board the Maasdam in Auckland.

Stay well and safe everyone.

[baltic17]

Thanks for the daily.  Weed pulling worked out well but now my back would rather I rest.

[surfcitygirl]

12 hours ago, rafinmd said:

One year ago today was a Sunday and I was in Long Beach awaiting departure on the Crystal Serenity's World Cruise.  I was staying on the original Queen Mary and was joined by @Copper10-8 and his lovey wife for Brunch the ship's Grand Salon.

 

In this exquisite setting we enjoyed an equally exquisite Buffet while accompanied by the music of a great band.

 

 

After our feast we spent an hour or two wandering around this classic ship.  A great afternoon.

 

Roy

Roy, we have enjoyed that great brunch too. It had always been a dream of mine to stay on the Queen Mary, since my parents immigrated to the US from Holland on her after WWII. They sailed in February and endured a very rough crossing.