Ship = Star Legend

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

BCN-> Barbados.  At least this is the plan. Boarding today is between 1130-1530. The ship can take a maximum of 312 passengers, but I think they actual account is going to be a bit less. I was notified of a cabin upgrade a couple of days ago (which is what is making me feel like the ship is not full booked). One of the other reasons (and how I got George to sign up in the first place) is that originally there were going to be a couple of stops in Morocco. Obviously, looking below, those have been swapped out in favor of places the ship can actually dock. (As of a couple of days ago- Morocco imposed a 10 day quarantine period. Kind of messes up the thought of shore excursions.)

As I think that George is not going to be willing to go without email or his daily intake of news and politics – I should be on email. George departs on the 24th and is flying through Frankfurt on his way home. Me? I am staying on till Barbados. Missing Thanksgiving….too bad, so sad…not.

 

Friday, November 12 Barcelona, Spain 5:00pm
Saturday, November 13 At Sea
Sunday, November 14 Malaga, Spain 8:00am 9:00pm
Monday, November 15 Cadiz, Spain 10:00am 10:00pm
Tuesday, November 16 Gibraltar, UK Territory 8:00am 1:00pm
Wednesday, November 17 At Sea
Thursday, November 18 Lanzarote, Canary Islands 9:00am 6:00pm
Friday, November 19 Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands 8:00am 10:00pm
Saturday, November 20 San Sebastian De La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain 8:00am 3:00pm
Sunday, November 21 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal 1:00pm
Monday, November 22 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal 1:00pm
Tuesday, November 23 At Sea
Wednesday, November 24 Lisbon, Portugal 8:00am 5:00pm
Thursday, November 25 At Sea
Friday, November 26 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal 1:00pm 11:00pm
Saturday, November 27 At Sea
Sunday, November 28 Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands 7:00am 10:00pm
Monday, November 29 At Sea
Tuesday, November 30 At Sea
Wednesday, December 1 At Sea
Thursday, December 2 At Sea
Friday, December 3 At Sea
Saturday, December 4 At Sea
Sunday, December 5 At Sea
Monday, December 6 At Sea
Tuesday, December 7 At Sea
Wednesday, December 8 Barbados 6:00am

In theater entertainment

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

The lounge chairs were comfortable, and the performance on screen was augmented by the snoring of the gentleman in the lounger near me. I enjoyed the orchestra concert, although I arrived too late to catch the intro. It was not a piece familiar to me.

I could have skipped the Michael Jackson retrospective completely. But found the Leonard Cohen film quite fascinating. I guess that I had been mostly aware of him as a poet and hadn’t realized his extensive career as a singer-songwriter. I think I was vaguely aware that he was Canadian. But then, perhaps my excuses of being overseas for most of his performing career coupled with not being interested in English/literature/poetry as a potentially plausible excuse. 

Thinking about all of this was by far more entertaining than events starting at about 0400 in the morning when a couple of families arrived to let their elementary aged monsters lose to run around and make noice. I was not the only one significantly irritated, but the comments and looks just rolled off the adults. Leaving me to once again firmly believe that money doesn’t mean courtesy or manners.

Anyway, I was awake and spent the next four hours watching the clock and board for my gate and boarding availability. There also was coffee, pastries, excellent yogurt, so all wasn’t lost. The flight to Barcelona was uneventful. All the seats in my section were filled. I was entertained by the youngish Brit next to me on a break to visit his parents in Majorca. His is currently working in U.A.E. which said was unequivocally better than working directly in the oil fields, on rigs, or on ocean going tankers. 

Other than lines, getting to baggage claim wasn’t difficult. Immigration just stamped my passport, at medical control the reader just happily beeped at my QR code and I was on my way to hang out at baggage claim. And hang out. And hang out. My suitcase was one of the last to arrive. I was just glad to see it, considering that I had checked it  in at SFO on Tues afternoon. George took custody of both suitcase and me outside of baggage claim. 

He managed to get me to the shuttle location, the hotel without too much difficulty. I was totally wiped, and fell asleep shortly after. So now it is the middle of the night. No food since the plane and breakfast is not till 0700. I will live (especially since I claimed the sole food source – a bag of airplane nuts) from George) and counting the time from the present 0DarkWhatever till coffee….

TK Lounge

Holly Doyne Posted on by 2

Let me calculate the flight first. ~1830 -> 1805. Right – 24 hours. – 11 hours of time zone change = 13 hours flight as far as I can calculate. Not my longest flight (hello Australia & New Zealand) but not short either.

Indulging in business class (which is why I was on Turkish Airlines as their cost was by far lower than any other airline (by thousands if you were wondering) meant I had a comfortable seat, good food and no one sitting next to me. Wifi was included for the flight. The mushroom soup that was part of supper was as good as any I have had in Chops (for those of you familiar with that particular restaurant on RCCL. The rest of the meal was equally good. This morning the fruit was fresh and the coffee strong. The only thing that is difficult for me is that the seat, even reclined and with padding are still pretty hard since I don’t have any excess padding.

Mushroom Soup

Breakfast start

Landing in Istanbul, we arrived at a completely new section of the airport. The good and the bad – the signage could be improved for everyone. The Business Lounge wasn’t open, so I had to backtrack to the regular lounge. It is not the same as the old, wonderful two story lounge but still lovely. I found the “viewing” room which has a quiet full orchestra and choir concert playing on a large screen. I grabbed one of only about seven reclining arm chairs and have settled in for the duration. It is a lot of hours till my connecting flight to Barcelona

On the stitching front – I decided that I got a “long flight, new start” which is a pattern called “Roll the Dice” from ForbiddenFiberCo. Came complete – pattern, floss, fabric, bag. Excellent. Did I mention that it has only two colors? `

just a small start

SFO – USO

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

It rained last night and into this morning. We looked at each other and decided to ask Dani for a ride to BART as it was on her way to work. Admittedly, it would mean leaving earlier than we had planned, but avoided attempting either the bus or Lyft. Since we were packed last night, it only took a few minutes this morning of re-arranging things and trying not to forget anything (but I am sure that I have).

Rechecking the Turkish Airlines packing information – no nail files, no scissors, no…. Hello? Cross stitch supplies here. Seam ripper can function to cut threads and I doubt that it is going to raise any eyebrows. Folded scissors. We will see what happens… (and for those who are interested – I packed three things that are just about cohmplete. Unpacked a number of projects that will need too much concentration. Added a number of small (60×60) patterns so that I can feel like I am making progress….

So here I am at the airport – sitting in the new, lovely and clean USO lounge. It is located upstairs above the check-in at Terminal 1. You can’t get here by elevator, but there is an escalator. The lounge is pretty much empty. Not much for military stationed around here – so it primarily serves to support those changing planes here from the Far East, heading to the Far East (Philippines, Korea, Japan), the rare person from Travis Air Force Base, and the hodgepodge of locals. Since the Oakland Naval Air Station closed in 1961 the remaining active force here has been Coast Guard (who now belong to Homeland Security). In case you were wondering what happened to that particular piece of property and history – it is now knows as the Oakland International Airport.

George easily checked in through United (although the amount of paperwork it took was amazing – passport, boarding documents, immunization proof, Spanish entry, Portugal entry….) So I decided to see if it really was that hard to fill out the Spanish Health App. Nope – less than five minutes. All you needed was passport information, flight information, location in Spain. Gives me a QR code which will get me into Spain along with my Vaccine card…

My next report in will be from the Turkish Airlines Lounge in Istanbul (after a very, very long flight….)

 

there are times

Holly Doyne Posted on by 2

When having spent 33 years in the US armed forces really can pay off.

Let me explain.

I have a reasonable tolerance for ambiguity, stupid directions, and do-loops that can drive another member of my household nuts. I don’t expect an absence of conflicting information. I don’t expect rationality. I don’t expect it to be easy to figure out in which direction to march. Knowing that departure and marching in the direction that will eventually get me there is good enough. I can work through all the hassles and web-stupidity without losing my cool.

Example – entry requirements for Spain in my case simply say that I need to be able to prove full vaccination more than 14 days prior to country entry. Ok. There is a website which states clearly that the information MUST include flight number (if flying in) and SEAT number one the plane. This can’t be done more than 48 hours prior to arrival.

There is absolutely no issue and complete clarity as far as I am concerned. Why would I even think about trying to pre-fill in the form over the weekend? Not me. my 48 hours doesn’t start till mid-day on Tues. George’s 48 hours doesn’t start till mid-day today (Monday). See reference above about the weekend….. There is a definite advantage to watching someone else attempt to do the impossible. Stops me from wasting my time. Besides, I don’t have my seat number for the connecting flight in front of me. So I will do this while hanging out prior to boarding at SFO tomorrow afternoon.

The other challenge that I don’t face is COVID testing. Turkish Airlines doesn’t require a test that I can find on their website. Turkey doesn’t require a test for transiting passengers. They do require immunization documentation which I have in two formats. Spain requires proof of immunization (see rant about their QR code above). If I can’t manage to do the on-line Spain thing at SFO, I have a long layover in Istanbul and can manage it then.

In case you are wondering – why Turkish Airlines, the answer is simple. Their prices for one way trips (not-cattle car) are ½ of any of the other airlines which proceed to charge you as much for the one way as for the round trip. As I don’t need a flight back to the US at this point, round trip didn’t make sense. I should have just booked for early May and just signed up for another trans-Atlantic crossing, but it is too late now. Inside the US, booking is based on each direction and it doesn’t cost 80-100% of a roundtrip fare to go one way. And no, it is not worth just skipping the second flight as there are penalties that can be applied.

Otherwise, I am packed although reconsidering once again what cross-stitch projects I am taking. Perhaps I just need a soak in the hot tub to get cooled off and drop my annoyance at someone who just can’t leave all the conflicting information alone…..

Just checking in

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

This is just a short note to let you all know that I am alive, well, and heading out of town on the 9th.

The plan – as it is – fly to Barcelona (via Istanbul) arriving on the 11th to join George. We board Windstar’s Star Legend on the 12th.  Cruising via whatever ports are on the list by the time we get there… and finishing in Lisbon. George will fly back to the US while I stay on board and have a lovely cruise across the Atlantic. While I adore sea days, they have a tendency to bore him silly. He also faces the challenge of attempting to keep up with work solely via zoom and email.
So  anyway – checking in (and sending this out by email as well to be sure that my distro list still works…)

oh where or where

Holly Doyne Posted on by 6

There are those days on which I have to admit that I just might forget the occasional thing. Mostly, where I left my phone.

This morning, after planning on sleeping in, I was awake before six anyway. My bed is wonderfully cozy, my covers warm, the rain (yes! Rain!) is falling outside my window. And I am awake. Coffee would be good. Peet’s would be better, but rain? No, I don’t need to get wet to make a cup of coffee. We have a good coffee maker. Which I did and even thought about using the foamer to add a nice touch.

After dumping the last of the half&half and cleaning out the steamer, I made my second run at café-au-lait. This time with milk which was reasonably fresh, even accounting for the fact that it was the last portion in the container.  Armed with coffee, I head to the living room to settle in to stitch. But I need my phone. It is not in the kitchen, not in the living room. And not in the bedroom after taking it apart twice without waking George.

Giving up, I head back into the bedroom once more and grab my iPad which will take decent pictures in a pinch. There are four steps down from the bedroom to the entry hall, then another two into the living room. As I go to sit down, I notice a bit of pressure from my right, rear jeans pocket.

Just like on the ship, I had tucked my phone into a pocket…..

Check your fudge

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

We headed from Washington to Oregon at a reasonable time with two planned stops on the way to PDX (Portland’s Airport). The first was at the Columbia Factory Employee store. Some of the information in the store’s name is true. The parent company is Columbia and they have one of their factories near by. But since Columbia owns (and has for a while) both Mountain Hardware & Prana those brands are also prominently featured. Not sure the connection to Sorrel boots, but sure there is one.

Anyway, the store just on the outskirts of Portland is probably double the size of the Mountain Hardware Employee store in Richmond or more and it was crowded. I behaved myself and picked up only one things (fox all-in-one suit for Lev).

Then it was on to Acorns & Threads which has to be one of my all time favorite cross-stitch stores. It is open, bright, well organized and staff by incredibly friendly and knowledgeable people. I picked up my two patterns one in a raffle back at the beginning of the month then picked on an extra pattern or two plus some specialty hand-dyed floss (since I was there….)

Tucking away my treasures, Kris and I grabbed lunch prior to her dropping me at the airport.

And that was where my fun began.

Several years ago while still living in Germany I had a plane change in Chicago (ORD if it matters). Opting out of the whole body scanner, I proceeded to fail the “wipe test” after being hand screened. It upset the poor TSA screener who found zero of concern in my luggage. Completely stumped, she called EOD. The particular person had been ready to leave the airport after an exercise. I recognized him from years prior when we both served on one of Army Material Command’s Surety Inspection Teams. After a good laugh and a reassurance that I wasn’t a terrorist, a recheck pinpointed the problem to my shoes. The lesson learned? Don’t walk through fresh grass if there is any chance of recent fertilizer being applied.

So I am careful about not walking through grass on my way to the airport. But there was another lesson learned which I had forgotten. A block of cheese has a nice density. Viewed through a security belt scanner, it might just be confused for another substance. I am not a cindercorn (fire breathing unicorn) and I don’t eat C4.

As it turns out, fudge also triggers concern as it appears as a nice, fairly dense block.

Next time I will just triple wrap the fudge and take my chances with it surviving in my checked luggage…

the Oregon Coast

Holly Doyne Posted on by 2

Perhaps it was going to clear up, or maybe not. Regardless, Kris and I set off mid morning to visit Astoria, Seaside, and Ocean Beach – all on the Northern Oregon coast. This involved winding our way out of Longview, heading across the river (which should have been the Columbia) and quietly motoring along.

The rest of the post is photo heavy. You may want to cruise the blog here rather than fight your way through pictures that might/might be clear.

It started to clear, patches of blue running together with occasional clouds/fog over some of the mountains. Our first stop was Astoria. I was here in Nov 2017 (my how time flies…) off the American Empress Paddlewheel boat as part of our Columbia & Snake River trip. It was raining… (previous post here).

and surprise, American Empress

So we saw the cruise lines dedicated bus several times.

This time, without the rain, I had the chance to climb the tower, see rivers, the Pacific, and Mt Saddleback. Looking out from the parking lot –

looking out to the Pacific, across the Columbia River

and this should be the Snake River

and then there are the ships lined up for the various harbors

just a few

The Astoria Tower, on the highest point of the overlook,

Outside murals, inside circular staircase

was restored in 1995. Shall I just leave it with – it seemed like the steps went on forever?  From the top –

 

 

Our next stop heading down the coast was Seaside – a popular place for families at holiday time. We didn’t stop, but drove out and around the statue of Lewis & Clark at the end of their journey to sea.

If you are not familiar with Stan Roger’s Northwest Passage – take a minute to listen –

From there, it was Ocean Beach. Haystack Rock was clear, the sand was packed, dogs were having a great time running and there were a lot of people.  No puffins seen…

Haystack Rock

after finding a latte, wandering a few galleries and shops we headed back to Washington State.

I head to Oregon again tomorrow, this time with a couple of stops (Columbia Employees Store, Acorns&Threads) before PDX and my Southwest Flight home.

 

walking Lake Sacajawea

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

(and if you need further information here is your link to Wiki.)

Kris puts me to shame as she runs regularly, as in many days a week early in the morning. In a wnd eak moment, I agreed to go hike around Lake Sacajawea with her. Only 3.6? miles (old money here), snap right?

Lake Sacajawea

The temperature was perfect for a brisk walk (she took pity on me and my sandals). There were s few joggers, a fair number of walkers with dogs. And, a lot of ducks. In addition, there is that flavor or goose that was called “Canadian” when I grew up. I have been corrected and will now attempt to be correct – they are Canada geese. To be Canadian – specific country here, not continent – you have to have a passport…

aka Canada geese

and there they were. We stopped for lattes on the way back. The rest of the day was not necessarily spent by me in what others would consider productive. I didn’t plant and water, nor did I clean out gutters and blow away layers of early fallen leaves.

Oh, and it rained. I hardly recognized a heavy rain till in landed on my head.

Stitching Day

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

After arriving yesterday at Kris & Doug’s home, it was time to relax, run a load of laundry and attempt to sleep in a bed planted on solid ground and not rocking with the wind.

Today was a day for chatting, stitching and otherwise relaxing.

Maple Lane SAL is by TheFrosted Pumpkin. I think there are six parts – monthly starting with Oct.

The Owl Forest Alice started six months ago – I have finished the first 11 parts, just about done with part #12. Unfortunately, #13 is out and I would really like to get it mostly stitched before part #14 drops. I am expecting a total of ~ 20 parts (they come out every two weeks.

And finally – Love you to Death is by Silver Creek Samplers and just needs more time put in….

Amtrak

Holly Doyne Posted on by

actually on time – or so close as to not matter.

The Ovation of the Seas docked on time this morning. There was the usual line up of people just ready to dash off the ship as soon as it was cleared. I have never quite figured out why anyone would want to schedule an airline flight (is that redundant?) within 2-3 hours of docking. There is no guarantee of the ship’s on-time arrival, the presence of customs agents available to clear one, transportation, or the absence of traffic problems on the way to the airport. Seattle is not San Diego. The airport is not 10 minutes from the port, so visible that you can watch planes take off and land from the comfort of the ship at dock.

I went to breakfast, waited till about 1000 and wandered down two decks to find a line stretching almost to infinity with cruise director’s staff going nuts trying to enforce social distancing. Not happening when there are that many people wanting to get off the ship at once. Not being interested in hauling my suitcase and backpack down a couple of flights of stairs, I just hung out until an empty elevator showed up, then waited in the Schooner Bar till the line pretty much cleared out. Thru the line, down the ramp, down the escalator, across the arrivals haul before hitting another line for Immigration. Then outside where I hiked back to the same area where Lyft had dropped me off on arrival.

Had a lovely chat with my Lyft driver who has been at it for several years He works from 0300~0800 on most days, then heads home to take over childcare duties on those days when his wife has to be in her office. Today was not one of those days, so he was planning on driving till about noon. Dropped me off at King Street Station where I was able get my e-ticket printed and find a seat.

Pardon the slant, but the place was both empty and echoing

 

We were between scheduled trained. Seattle’s King Street Station is 1920’s deco. In attempting to keep much of the original look and feel – the tannoy has not been upgraded. Think vast, echoing and completely unintelligible when any announcement, whether live or pre-recorded, was made.

As this particular train originates in Seattle, we pulled out promptly on time, Two stops down, as the train filled up, I was joined by a pleasant but extremely garrulous gentleman. No further audiobook listening or stitching was accomplished.

Not even five minutes late, I arrived in Kelso-Longview and was met by Kris. I realized it is just shy of a year since I was last here. Looking forward to the visit, then I head home on Tues.

I should be packing

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

but instead I am listening to an audio book and grumbling about the continued inability to upload photos from my laptop. Since I am walking off in the morning rather than sticking out luggage for the staff to deal with, I really don’t see a hurry.

And, since this is the last cruise, I will not have the usual guilt about clearing out of the cabin so my attendant can get ahead of the curve for the next round of passengers.  Talking to the staff, many will be flying out starting on the 17th, A small number of staff will remain with the ship: ship drivers, maintenance personnel, some cooks, a couple of laundry and cleaning personnel, and a few waitstaff to do set up and tear down for the crew. It has been a shortened contract for many since they didn’t board till around 1 July.

[break to see if everything stuffs back into the suitcase – yes, well sort of. I bought very little. But I seem to have received a few extra Loyalty Gifts. Since the heavy duty blue bags are great for hauling stuff and grocery shopping, more are always great. But I expected maybe two. Hummm – how am I going to get six home?]

well, that was fun…

Holly Doyne Posted on by 2

NOT.

For whatever reason this morning, I decided to sign into my bank information. So glad that RCCL furnishes me with free wifi – it does help. Checked on a couple of purchases from yesterday – no hassles there – but whoa! There were twenty-seven (count-em – 27) charges floated from some firm or another in Texas. none of them were all that large – $11.45 & $21.95. But 27 in total. Not me, no way.

So I am left thinking about the fudge shop as perhaps a likely place (yes, this was in Skagway) as I can’t imagine such games from either the Quilt Shop or the Yarn Shop. Not only that, but those charges processed and were recorded to a local bank…

Checking in with my family, no one recognized the charges. So, here I am, off on a trip and have just needed to cancel my main credit card. I wound up having to do this about 18 months ago. It was a real pain. I had forgotten how many places one can “have a card on file.” Now that I think of it, I think it is one of the key reasons why I started using PayPal so much with Amazon as a backup. Fewer places that I had to provide credit card information.

I have already made the trip down to Guest Services to inform them that the credit card they had on file was no longer valid. Thank goodness I have a card off of George’s Bank for emergencies. Is cruising an emergency? And then there is a rather large refund coming in from another cruise line, which is probably going to bounce by the time it is processed. ….and it will be yet another phone call that I will have to make..

So, let us  move on.

I have mentioned that this is not a tiny ship. So cruising up Tracy Arm and back down means turning around slowly and carefully. There were plenty of chunks of ice in the water.

[and the photos won’t upload at the present – likely a result of too many people on the internet and limited bandwidth.]

And, unless you were outside on the deck (in the rain and high winds) the glacier is barely visible. There is so much loss in the last ten years, it is hard to even imagine…

I consoled myself with chocolate cake for lunch…

[and I promise I will upload the pictures when I get back to land….

Skagway

Holly Doyne Posted on by 3

Just so you know – yes, it was raining which started on my way to town. Which is why (of course) I had neither my rain jacket nor my umbrella with me. The ones that I had dug out of the closet since it “never rains in Northern California.”…..

Meanwhile – I could understand the wall along one of the docks in the canary islands. The one with all the ship names and logos. Clear, simple and no risk to life & limb to add a new ship. There are mostly cruise ships noting their presence with the occasional naval vessel tossed in for leavening.  

The signs painted on rocks interspersed between the trees clinging precariously to the side of the ridge which slopes  down to the water at the Skagway Pier? Where you would be risking limb and friends to accomplish the task?

Not so much.  

 

Then there is the town – which I am sure has requirements for all buildings in the commercial portion of town so that they look like “old west mining town.” Additionally, there are the usual informational placards, boardwalk sidewalks, murals, and mandatory tourist type shops…

I found Alaskan Quilts and tracked down Aurora Yarns, skipped all the junk shops and managed to get back to the ship before becoming completely soaked…

Juneau

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

Where was I? Oh, yes, Juneau Alaska.

Not the day we were expected, according to the owner of Changing Tides. It was perfectly fine, according to Harper, the reasonably tall, rather densely curly haired dog inhabiting the shop. He decided that I was his new best friend. And that was inspire of me not letting him into my shopping bag. The one he was sure contained treats. Pretty much mollified by a good bit of patting, he forgave me for 1) not bringing him biscuits & 2) not letting him at the fudge. He didn’t agree that chocolate wasn’t good for dogs, but hey! I was going to be there for a while – perhaps I would change my mind?

Besides an incredible array of quilting fabrics, the owner had a section of knitting yarns supplied by the dyer who used to have a yarn shop next door. We will not mention all the temping prints, panels, and patterns. Nor the additional trinkets and art items. I went out the door with replacements for some embroidery floss, the kits for a couple of mug rugs, and a smile.

Up the street was a  comfortable used book store rules over by Mabel who assumed everyone would step over her. I didn’t pick up aniy books, but found a couple at the newer book store located in the newly repainted building next to the dock. I keep thinking that it might have been a cannery at one point, but is now the home to all the local aviation companies, and a number of small shops as well as pubs and restaurants.

I didn’t find the fire station, but then I didn’t go looking for it. All in all, I spent maybe a couple of hours off ship before coming back and settling in to one of the lounges so that I could indulge in hot chocolate.  We sailed out early – around 1530 to head just the short distance up to Skagway. Most importantly, we should avoid the worst of the high winds. Nothing like being in a couple hundred feet tall hunk of floating metal..

Ketchikan and Fire Trucks

Holly Doyne Posted on by 1

When I was here in Aug, it was a quiet Monday. Not much was going on. Fire station doors were closed. Today, both the main bays and their small museum area were open.

original Ketchikan engine

 

with a couple of closer looks

inside the back, are two rows of benches which I am going to presume were for men and gear.

After wandering back out, I found one of the crew  hosing down the entry way. I stopped to chat and got a look at this beauty. Brand new this month, this ladder truck has just about all the bells and whistles to get it in just about anywhere. Ladders, rescue equipment, etc. etc. etc.

I am impressed.

Tomorrow is Juneau, then Skagway, then sailing (perhaps) by glaciers before returning to Seattle.

whales, not waves

Holly Doyne Posted on by 1

I was half listening to the tannoy when something penetrated. The Captain was saying that we were slowing down because of the …….. I heard waves. Huh? then he said something about both sides of the ship, and breaching.

Then the penny dropped. Whales, he was talking about sailing through a pod of whales. Now, I didn’t bring a regular camera with me, just my phone. So I saw tails, but not close enough to make a decent picture. Unless, you would like pictures of grey waters, waves to the horizon and overcast sky. 

(insert a break of 20 minutes here of standing on my balcony gazing out to sea. There are the occasional blow spout seen but nary a breaching whale. It is chilly out. Even with the sun occasionally breaking through the clouds it is still barely above freezing….)

not like you can see anything

Otherwise, I headed to Coastal Kitchen for breakfast, had the “meal with an officer (no officers at the tables) for a lovely lunch, then spent the rest of the day relaxing and stitching (except for my attempt to see whales and find two colors of floss that I seem to have forgotten to bring)

Oh – and goodies – can’t forget the goodies…

tasty….chocolate!

.

 

 

Seattle-Seattle

Holly Doyne Posted on by 2

on the Ovation (8-15 Oct 2021)

Rather than come in the day before, I chose to make poor George get up early this morning in order to drop me off at BART. Like before 0600 early in order to have an uncrowded trip to OAK (which technically is Oakland International Airport, but really, it is the local Southwest Airlines hub). I managed to get checked in and on a hunt for a morning latte by 0730 which put me well ahead of the game.

My flight to SEA-Tac was completely full of course, but I was early enough in the boarding process that I was able to snag one of my favorite exit row seats. Arriving in SEA (finally, we sat on the runway for 20 while waiting for a gate to open), I followed the fish out of the terminal and down to baggage claim. I almost managed to snag a ride on. the Cruise bus, but the driver had just booked the last seat, so it was Lyft for me. 

Considering it all, the check in process went fairly smoothly. I had a chance to talk with some lovely people in line while we snaked back and forth prior to entering the terminal. From there, check-in, security and boarding took just a few minutes to complete. 

I have a nice balcony (which was not significantly more than if I had booked an inside cabin (so why bother). 

The small boat harbor

 

Standing on my balcony – I looked out over the pier and beyond to the small boat harbor which seems so packed that I wonder how anyone manages to get in or out.

I am on Deck 7 – I can look down at the huge life boats.  Surprisingly for a US based ship, my cabin has a kettle. 

desk, couch, balcony.

My stateroom attendant has already dropped off the extras (nicer soap, shampoo & Conditioner) along with a comfortable bathrobe. It wasn’t chocolate covered cherries, but there were cookies to greet me…

Now all I have to do is figure out where I am going to eat….

Witchy Stitchy 2021

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

is a stitching challenge run by Donnett at Embroidery Central to encourage stitchers to put in 30 minutes a day. For those who play on Facebook, it is post a before and after every day. For those of us not – well, she is will to accept emails. Four days can be missed in the month, but the 31st is mandatory.

I participated in 2019 and again in 2020. My reward was a needle minder each time. Simple enough, but appreciated. 

This year I decided to use one of my Halloween Stitch-a-longs since I was going to be doing a section every day (anyway). Well, sort of everyday, since it actually started last month so that we might actually have a finished piece by Halloween. 

This was my “before” picture this morning

starting point 1 Oct

with the next entry being “Slenderman” who I don’t have a clue about (perhaps he is a Dutch thing?). 

and my ending point with “Slenderman”

 

but in any case – I am planning on not missing any days this month!