Bermuda Cruise 2024 #2 - Sea Day # 2 (11/01/24)

 

 

2:00 am - All Aboard!

 

7:30 am - Already at Sea!

Technically, the ship was in port until 7 am this morning. However, all aboard time was 2 am, meaning that for all practical purposes, this was a sea day.

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RQS and I got up late enough to miss all vestiges of breakfast.  I took my time in getting moving, and we decided to go to one of the ship's casual dining venues, the American Diner, around 11:45 am.  When we got there, there were 20 people in line ahead of us.  While waiting, we bumped into our newfound friend and chatted for a while.  Luckily, the line started to move at noon (when service started), and we were politely able to end our conversation without further commitments to meet again.

This dining venue is in a sheltered area above the lido deck, but it still outdoor dining.  Given how busy the place is, we were glad to get there to be seated promptly.  But then we had to wait for service.  Eventually, someone took our beverage order, and then our food order.  Both beverages and food took a relatively long time to come to the table.  RQS and I had different opinions on our salads, as I had the Caesar Salad and she had the Greek Salad. I enjoyed the Chicken Chili, and she enjoyed her Nachos.  Eventually, the main course came - a Cheeseburger for me and Pulled Pork Sliders for her.  Even if the burgers were the same as from O'Sheehans downstairs, it tasted better for some reason.  As for the pork sliders, RQS enjoyed them, but couldn't eat all of them.  I tasted the one she didn't eat and i wasn't impressed - I guess I wasn't in the mood for any meat drenched in BBQ sauce.

After lunch we took our time in getting back to our rooms to take a nap.  I needed it, for again, I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep again.  On our way back to the room, we noticed that a larger than normal number of people (for this cruise) were outside sunning themselves by the pool area.  This would be the last warm day we'd likely have before reaching port, and I might have been soaking myself in the hot tubs had I brought my swimsuit and other falsies.

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After our nap, it was time to go to the photo gallery and look at the pictures taken of us dressed to the nines.  Most were OK, but I wish we had been on MSC for this cruise, as formal nights were truly formal nights.  On NCL, they only have "Glow" nights, where people may opt to dress nicer than usual.  Yet, we got a few nice pictures taken of us,   On the way there, we met a couple dressed to the nines - the gentleman was in his Marine Corps finest, while his wife was decked out in a beautiful gown.  I'd have loved to have seen their photo shoot!

Next stop was another one of the complimentary main dining rooms, the Manhattan room.  This restaurant is similar to the other 2 complimentary restaurants (Taste and Savor), save that it is larger and has space for people to dance if the background music causes a couple to leave their table to dance a bit.

Dancing wasn't in the cards for us this night, as we were both hungry and interested in what was on the menu.  I started with the Baked Brie Salad, followed by the Chicken & Shrimp Paella.  It was good, but not as good as I've had in a favorite Spanish restaurant that is long shuttered.  For dessert, it was a pair of eclairs.  They were tasty, but not exactly what I would have wanted to finish the meal.

At this point, we were getting tired, so we went back to the room and retired for the night.

 

 

Bermuda Cruise 2024 #1 - Sea Day #5 (10/05/24)

 

RQS and I decided to get up late today, as this would be our last day on the ship. We didn't get moving until 10 am, and made it to the main dining room for brunch.  Instead of my usual breakfast, I decided to start with Buccatini with Clam Sauce.  As would be expected with an Italian cruise line, this dish was yummy!  If you cruise MSC in the future, try to have this dish at least once on your cruise, as you won't be disappointed.  However, if you are asked to share a table, think twice.  There are a large number of Asians who will keep to themselves if seated with Occidentals.

After brunch, it was back to the cabin to pack.  I put all my dirty clothes in my large suitcase, with the plan to unload everything into the washing machine once I get home.  RQS took a little more time, as she has yet to perfect a routine for dealing with end-of-cruise packing that can be used on 7-day cruises.  After a little rest, it was back to the buffet for one last lunch before going back to the cabin to finish packing. Once finished, it was time to rest again.  I don't know what caused us to be tired today, as we had more than enough sleep last night.  And then it was time for dinner.

It was our last trip to the main dining room, and it was Italian night.  The staff greeted the diners by singing some song as diners walked to their tables.  The tables were decked out in the colors of the Italian flag, while the wait staff wore vests and ties with the same colors.  All the highlighted foods would be found in a typical Italian restaurant, and I chose the Veal Osso Buco.  Yum!  I'll be sure to diet after the cruise ends - I feel bloated from all the tasty food we ate on board.

One thing of note: Our new table mates next to us noted that the NCL Joy made it to Bermuda the day we left, and was still in port as of Friday.  I wonder what changed with the weather forecast....?

Finally, it was time to go back to our cabin, and put our luggage outside. The next time we see these bags will be on the pier tomorrow morning.  I'll be glad to go home tomorrow, but also be sad to see this cruise end.

Bye Bye to RQS and Hello to "Tall Vicki". (A short post.)

 

This past weekend RQS came up to Croton, and we had a relaxed time together.  But like all good things, the weekend had to end, and RQS had to return home.  As much as I am always a little sad when she leaves, it also is the opening for me to have some "Me Time" which I can use to recharge my emotional batteries and be ready for us getting together later in the week.

Around 3:00 pm, I drove to Croton-Harmon and kissed RQS goodbye for a few days.  Hopefully, she got home before the rain started.  This gave me some time to take care of some things, such as filling up the gas tank in my car and mending an article of clothing.  I figured that I could kill a couple of hours before getting dressed again and going out to have dinner with Vicki #1.

The skies opened up around 5:00 pm, with loud thunder passing through the area.  As soon as it came, it was gone. And I proceeded to the Sushi joint in town to meet Vicki. Vicki suggested a change of pace in our meal, where both of us would share a house special seafood soup for 2, a noodle dish with shrimp, and a mild maki roll.  I'd order the first 2 dishes, but go with a simpler roll with more flavor the next time we eat there. It was a short dinner.  And all too soon, we went home.  

It wasn't much of a day, but a relaxing one.

Seeing "Short Vicki" for dinner.

Most of my readers may know that I have two women friends named Vicki.  Vicki #1 ("Tall Vicki") is a woman I've known for almost 30 years, someone who has gone through her share of "Sturm und Drang" and come out OK.  Vicki #2 ("Short Vicki") is a woman I met while I was unattached, and we developed a good friendship over the years.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get both Vickies to meet each other, as I think they will enjoying knowing others with some similar interests.

But I digress....

Vicki #2 suggested that we get together over the weekend.  However, her plans changed, and RQS and I were able to meet her for dinner in Yonkers, after a brief stop at the book store to pick up some magazines that RQS is interested in.

It was nice to finally get RQS and Vicki together, as the only time they have met was when her husband passed away. (And, that's not what I call a real meeting.)  The three of us sat down for dinner and chatted for about an hour and a half before leaving.  Hopefully, next time Vicki and her wife will be able to join RQS and I for a dinner foursome.

Later on....

One of the people from game night has been trying to sell an inherited apartment which has both deed restrictions and other complications that make the owning/selling the apartment a dubious proposition. (I would have had similar problems had my father not seen a lawyer many years ago and not put the family homestead in my brother's name and my name at that time.)  We chatted via online messages, and I expect that our voice chat will be interesting.

As you can see, life can be interesting - even when nothing much is going on.

Pizza - An answer to what do we eat tonight? (a short post)

 '

How many of us have had this conversation:

"What's for dinner?"

"I don't know."

 

Well, this was the dilemma posed to RQS and I the other day.  Since I was not in the mood to cook, I was leaning toward pizza.  But where?  The only thing RQS remembered about the place we both liked was that the platter holding the cooked pizza was supported by a stand, so that there was more room on the table for dinner plates.  

Not being ready to eat around 6:00 pm, I decided to take a scenic drive around Northern Westchester county while thinking of inexpensive places to eat.  So we got in the car, and RQS decided to look for pizzerias which we've gone to and where she enjoyed the pizza.  And she found the one that I suggested we go to in the first place.  Now that we knew the place where RQS wanted to go, we decided to head there in the most direct way possible via side roads.

Once at the pizzeria, we knew it was the right place - and we feasted.  It was a nice way to kill some time and figure out what's for dinner.

RQS has gone home. (But I'll see her tomorrow.)

This past Friday, RQS came up to spend the weekend.  Because I had purchased tickets to Lawrence of Arabia for a Sunday evening showing, she stayed over until Monday morning.  It was unusual for her to leave so early in the day.  But she had to get her hair done before meeting me tomorrow.

Once RQS was safely on the train, I took care of some business for the co-op at the bank, then went home to chill a little before meeting with my sleep doctor.  Soon, I'll have an appointment to take a sleep test (hopefully, at a lab and not at home) as a precursor to getting a new CPAP machine.  And then, I went home to rest some more before having the first interview for a study I've volunteered to participate in. Around 6:45 pm, I had my interview for the study, and all went well.  So I know what I'll be doing for the next 3 months or so.

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Tomorrow, it'll be my turn to meet RQS in Manhattan for a nice dinner.  Thankfully, the weather will be nice enough for me to dress relatively nice, so we won't look like Mutt and Jeff.  Since RQS will have her hair nicely done, I'd like to get a nice picture of the two of us together....

I could have done much more today than to have dinner with Vicki

 

OK, I was home for most of the day and didn't do much.  Yet, I did start unpacking, I did make appointments to get together with friends, and I did get together with Vicki for dinner.  But, the apartment is still an unmitigated mess, and RQS will be coming up on Thursday.  There are simply not enough hours in the day, nor is there enough energy in me to straighten up my mess.

When RQS comes up here this weekend, one of the things we will be doing is to shop for a new refrigerator for her apartment.  (That reminds me - call up warranty service for my ice box.)  Her landlord is unwilling to replace it.  And being in a rent stabilized apartment, she is loath to trigger any ill feelings between her and the landlord.

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I'm finding that I didn't back up all my Norway photos to Google Photos.  This is a minor thing to take care of, as I have the photos both on my phone and on my PC.  Now, I have to transfer the videos from main storage in the old (broken) phone.  At least, RQS has a "full" set of photos from this trip.

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Around 4:30, I got showered and dressed to go see Vicki for dinner.  Compared to what she was a few years ago, she looks emaciated!  But I'm not going to tell her that, as she's at the right weight for her age.  She notices that I gained a couple of pounds while I was on the cruise.  At least, I knew that in advance.

As you can see, I'm all over the place today.  I'm simply getting back into my normal routine, and I am taking time to get used to a "normal" routine again.

Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/23/24 (Sea Day #4)

 

When it's a sea day, this is the view one expects from a balcony cabin.  Of course, when you're above the Arctic Circle, you can get this view for days at a time.  However, we're sailing south, and we will soon enter the region where the sun sets every night - at earlier and earlier times each day.

This sea day was uneventful.  For the most part we rested, listened to the music from the main atrium and watched TV in our room.  Yet, we made one important decision: We decided to book an Alaskan Inside Passage Cruise for next year.  So we walked over to the future cruise desk and chatted with one of its staff members.  He presented us with a deal, that allowed us to get the line's concierge service, credit that would be used for payment of the cruise, and access to other deals (such as volume discounts from hotels with whom Princess does business) that would be unavailable if we booked the Alaskan cruise through our travel agent.  Although we don't know if this deal will be worth it, it looks like it should be a good bargain, as we will be taking our cruise within the 2-year window for the deal.

  

Later on, it was dinner at the ship's specialty seafood restaurant.  Our original plan was to watch a show in the ship's theater, then mosey to the restaurant around 9:00 pm.  However, there were no available seats in the theater, so we went to see if they could accommodate us at the restaurant.  This time, we had a better dining experience because the music from the atrium was not disturbing.  My starter was a pleasant Cioppino.  It was tasty, but not as good as those I've had in the SF Bay area.  Next was a dish they called a Concerto, basically seafood over pasta with a light red sauce.  This was yummy, and as good as any I've had in NYC's better Italian restaurants.

As you can guess, by the time we finished our dinner, we were not in the mood for anything other than bed.... 

Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/19/24 (Hellesylt & Geiranger, Norway)

 

We awoke early to see Geiranger Fjord before a short port at Hellesylt to drop off cruisers who had ship arranged shore excursions.  While stopped at port, we went to the main dining room for breakfast to start our day with a good meal.  And then the ship headed for Geiranger.

Shortly after breakfast, the ship started heading for Geiranger.  Unfortunately, we were told that the winds were too strong for the "sea walk" (read: a gangway to the pier).  Instead, this became a tender port, something both of us dislike due to the time it takes to get on and off the tender boat.  You can imagine how RQS felt when she heard that we would need to use a tender boat to reach dry land.  (Three guesses, the first two don't count.)

We got our tender coupons and found that there would be a 1 hour wait to get off the ship.  So we headed to the pizzeria to kill some time and have a light lunch.  By the time we were finished, I had some GI Tract issues which forced us to go back to our cabin for a while.  When I was done, they no longer were using tender tickets to manage capacity on the boats taking us to shore.  So, it was on to the tenders, and then on to shore.

After walking around a bit, we went back to the ship.  Geiranger may be a beautiful place to live, but it must also be a little bit boring after the tourist season ends.  One thing I noticed about reboarding procedures is that no one is asking for personal id.  I think the reason they tell us to carry a government issued ID is that people might have to be flown to the next port to meet the ship if they miss reboarding the ship in port.  

Once we rested, we made it down to the sushi bar.  This was a disappointment for us, as they were slow in bussing the tables, greeting us as we arrived, and delivering all of what we ordered.  At least, the food was good.  Both of us will be writing Princess after the cruise to comment on our experience at this restaurant.

 

 

 

PS: We later saw videos of excursions from this port which made me wish we had taken the coach tour to the top of the mountains surrounding Geiranger.  After seeing the view from the top of the mountain, snow on both sides of the road, and the fjord 3000 feet below, I wish we had taken the bus excursion at this port.

Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/17/24 (Haugesund, Norway)

 

I awoke to an overcast day, knowing that we were not on a fixed schedule.  Our ship was due to make port in Haugesund around 9:00 am, and RQS had planned to take an exercise class at 10:00 am.  So RQS joined me for an early breakfast (not eating anything) while I feasted again.  (Reminder to self: Aim to have breakfast in the main dining room next time.)  

Around 10:00 am, RQS went to exercise, while I went to the atrium to relax and catch up on reading the daily news.  (She found that no one but her was at the exercise class, so she had the leader to herself - a private lesson.)  RQS texted me to tell me that she made it up to our cabin when the power went out.  First, it was the lights in the stores (closed for the time in port), followed by everything else for a few seconds.  Then, the emergency power and lights kicked in.  We were told NOT to take the elevators at this time, so I told RQS that I'd come up when it was safe.  Once I heard the ultra low pitched sound of the ships engines kicking in, I went up to the room to meet RQS before having a light lunch.

Shortly after lunch, we took the shuttle bus into Haugesund.  $8/pp (approx.) isn't an unreasonable price to be shuttled into town and back, given the price of gas (or electric) in this neck of the world.

Later on in the day, we went to the main dining room for dinner.  Compared to what we've had in the past on NCL, Princess's MDR now shows itself to be better than what we have been finding on our NCL trips.  Hopefully, our Autumn Bermuda trip will show that NCL has rectified the problems we've seen on previous cruises....

One thing of note:  We chose an all-inclusive package (Princess Premier) which gives us 4 devices of unlimited internet use on this cruise. This is a much better deal than I could have gotten on any other cruise line that I've sailed on.  However, there is a minor glitch.  When we sailed out of the US, we were connected to a United States based IP address, and the ads presented to us were geared to the US market.  However, on this cruise, the IP assigned to us was either UK based or German based.  This means that we've been getting ads geared for the UK and EU markets, some of them in German.  In the Google search results for Linens and Things above, I got responses from European stores with prices listed in Euros.  There are also some sites that I cannot reach due to EU restrictions.  I guess that I'll have to wait until we return to the US to order a new dress from Lane Bryant, or to order a new wig from Wig Outlet.  But what I find most interesting is that I keep getting forced to German sites of international businesses based in the USA.  Even my high school German has proven to be no use here....

Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/16/24 (Sea Day #1)

What can I say about sea days, save for that the most important thing one can do is relax.  We were glad that we had this day to rest, as our bodies were on New York time, and we were now sailing in Central European time.

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The first thing on our docket was a "Deluxe Balcony Breakfast for Two."  Although we could have had a table set up for us on our balcony, we chose to have this spread set up on a table in our cabin.  There was an Assortment of Pastries, a Melon dish, a Smoked Salmon dish, and Quiche Lorraine to eat, along with coffee, orange juice, and sparkling wine to wash it down.  We were stuffed to the gills before 10:30 came around, and there was no way we were going to have lunch at a normal time.

After a chance to rest, we went to afternoon tea.  Although this might not have been as fancy a presentation as is done on one of Princess's sister lines (Cunard), it was well worth the effort to enjoy this sea day activity.  Once done, we proceeded to Rudi's Catch (Princess's specialty seafood restaurant) to change our scheduled time for the first of our specialty dinners.  Princess's app forced us to choose an 8:30 pm dining time, while we wanted something earlier.  Luckily, the restaurant we chose had quite a few openings for 7:00 pm, and we jumped at that slot.  Then, we took another short nap, still dealing with our body clocks being out of sync with local time.

Around 6:15 pm, we started to get dressed for a formal night. I surprised RQS by wearing a tie with my male "casual formal" garb (read: blue blazer, dress grey slacks, and a button down shirt), while I'd have rather been presenting as Marian in a nice LBD with pearls.  (She joked that she'd help me practice with this, and I said - no thanks....)  Then, it was off to Rudi's.

Princess made a big mistake with the design of Rudi's Catch on this ship.  Both their Steakhouse and Italian restaurants are separated from places where people gather (and where music is performed) by a sound blocking partition or wall.  This is not the case with Rudi's Catch.  It is right off the main atrium, where a band playing loud music can make it impossible for anyone to have a conversation. Most importantly, the volume of this music makes it hard for restaurant staff to communicate with both its patrons and other staff members.  (Princess should fire the people who made this design decision, and find a way to separate this restaurant from the noise from the atrium as soon as possible.  But I digress.)

As much as I enjoyed my meal at Rudi's on my last cruise, I was wishing we were somewhere else for this meal.  We enjoyed an appetizer with a small lobster tail.  I had chosen the Three S (shrimp, scallops and salmon) main course, while RQS chose a dinner portion of lump crab cakes - a big mistake, as the crab cakes had no flavor.  (Later on, I said that RQS should have ordered one of the main courses and not eat everything.  But RQS hates to waste food without good reason.)  Neither of us were impressed by the Crepes Suzette we had for dessert.  In short, we could have skipped this dinner and had gone to the buffet for a better meal.  Hopefully, this restaurant will do better on our second visit later on in the cruise.

Once done with dinner, we called it a night.  

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If you've gotten this far.... HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!!

Zooming with friends - a short post

 

I don't have too much to say today....

This morning I got up for a morning appointment, then went home for a nap.  By the time I was conscious again, it was 3 pm and I had to get ready for a zoom meeting with my friends from Texas.

Now, I really wasn't in the mood to talk much today, as my mind is preoccupied by my upcoming cruise.  So, I stalled in getting ready, but got dressed as Marian a little before 6 pm, and went down to the local pizzeria to get something good to eat.  On the way down, I refreshed my money supply, so that I'd have extra spending money for the week.  While driving, I called LK to confirm tomorrow's lunch - and this ended up being a no-go.  She is (as expected) occupied by her children, and unable to handle visitors.  I was a little disappointed, but not enough to be depressed.  LK tends to let life get in the way of her plans, and I guess she will always be doing this.  (At least, she has a life....)

Once done with dinner, I went back to the house to start the zoom meeting with my friends from Texas.  Both my friends came on, as well as RQS - our usual foursome.  It was nice to chat with everyone again.  But I know I was flagging, as I'm still dealing with my lack of sleep last night.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get up early tomorrow, so that I can get a lot of tasks done to prepare for the cruise.

California Vacation - Day 07 (Catalina Island)

 

Today's Port stop was Catalina Island (Avalon).  This is a place where I'd like to visit again, stay a couple of days, and chill for a while.  But I won't get this chance on any cruise anytime soon.

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I had arranged to meet my new friend around 9:30 am in the buffet for breakfast.  And again, we kept talking until it was past lunch time.  Well, I found an excuse around 1:00 pm to go to the tender boats and take a ride to Avalon.  

Avalon is the main town on Catalina Island.  The tourist section is picturesque, and a great place to chill for a few hours.  The area near the dock is filled with tourist based shops and restaurants, yet it felt like a place where people actually lived - several people were walking with their dogs in the area near the dock.

One of the stores I went into was a former bank building.  The current tenant has turned the former vault into a place where local artisans' work is displayed.  Further down the stretch is a ice cream and candy store, where I bought some candy for RQS and some ice cream for myself.  Once done with the ice cream, I called RQS for a while and caught up on things.  And then, it was back to the ship before dinner.

Changing into a fresh dress, I went downstairs for dinner - finally at a shared table in the main dining room.  There was a motivational speaker from New Zealand at the table, a couple from Las Vegas, and some other people who I didn't get the chance to talk to that much.  Most of my conversations were with the woman next to me (from Las Vegas), her husband, a male nurse across from me, and the motivational speaker.  Somehow, I seemed to click with everyone at the table, as my idea of skills every child should learn (Baseball, Poker and Chess) was taken well.  And the motivational speaker found what I had to say about America's political divisions (as well as the rest of the world) and the failures of democracies to deliver value to all citizens to be very interesting.  (I can't reconstruct that conversation in any detail anymore.)  Although we were all seated by 6:30 pm, we didn't get our main courses until 8:00 pm.  None of us were happy about this.  But it did allow for the many great conversational threads we were sharing while we waited.

Once done with dinner, I walked over to the "Inch of Gold" stand and bought 2 x 23" necklace chains (from which I plan to attach pendants), getting 2 "free" bracelet chains as part of the deal.  This took longer than expected, as I missed the opening numbers of Tommy McPhee in the ship's theater.  This Scottish singer did numbers from Neil Sedaka, Elton John, Barry Manilow and others.  He has a good voice.  But it is easy to see how he'd be performing on cruise ships with small audiences instead of areas with large audiences - he didn't have charisma, nor did he have any material of his own.  In short, I'd sit in the audience if he performed on a cruise ship I was on, but I wouldn't pay to see him live.

Leaving the theater, I checked when the chains would be ready (the last night of the cruise), and had a drink before going to bed....

California Vacation - Day 06 (Sea Day)

 

Last night, I fell asleep between 2:00 am and 3:00 am and woke up this morning around 7:30 am.  Of course, looking back at things, I didn't feel thoroughly rested.  But I made sure to get up and get dressed to connect with my new friend for breakfast at the buffet around 9:30 am.  As has become usual on this ship, we hung out together from breakfast through lunch.  And then, we met again for afternoon tea, only to schedule dinner together with her friends. Now, it's nice to have someone to chat with, but it's always nice to have time alone. I just didn't make enough of this time today.  But I will do so tomorrow, when we reach Catalina island.

But I have gotten out of sequence.  So I'll go back a step or so....

We rushed through our breakfast, as there was a cooking demonstration being given in the main theater.  It was scripted well, with one chef playing a true professional, and the other being a clown who would screw up the recipes by adding too much of certain important ingredients such as Garlic, Worcestershire Sauce, Brandy and Vodka.  It was a funny show, followed by a quick tour of the galley. Next, we were off to lunch in one of the main dining rooms, where we shared a table with other cruisers.  By the time this meal came around, I really wasn't hungry.  I simply ate to be social.

Once lunch was over, we took a breather, as afternoon tea was coming up for the last time on the cruise.  This time, I couldn't find my friend, so I sat at a shared table with other cruisers.  This was an interesting group, as I was the only Easterner, and we shared our thoughts about the "Grab and Go" thefts going on in California, and the lack of an adequate response by law enforcement.  No wonder why at least one Latin American nation elected a dictator to clean up the mess left by a bumbling democracy - and he is well liked for making it safe again to go out of the house.  Once this table broke up, I found my friend and some of her friends at a nearby table, and sat down with them for a while before going back to my cabin to change for the last gala night of the cruise.

Once I got some pictures taken, I went to dinner with my new friend, and then helped two people at the table to celebrate their birthdays.  This was steak and lobster night, and I ordered (and paid for) an extra portion, so that I could have an extra piece of lobster with my meal.  Dinner went by quickly, and I exited so that I could go back to my room for a while before going to the main theater to see Elliot Hunter perform his illusions.  As much as I do not look to see magicians, I can be entertained by them now and then.

All too soon, it was time to go to bed.  Although I have plans to see my friend for breakfast, I will be heading out to Catalina island to spend the day....

California Vacation - Day 05 (San Francisco)

 

26 years ago, I scattered my late wife's ashes in a spot under the Golden Gate Bridge, right behind Fort Point.  Due to 9/11, this spot is no longer accessible to the public.  But I try to get as close as possible each time I visit this city.  Today's visit would be special, as I don't see myself coming back to this city for a while.

- - - - - -

When I got up this morning, I planned to drop by Fort Point and then visit the Swan Oyster Depot for lunch.  My plans were to visit the fort first, and then take Muni (SF's Mass Transit system) to the Oyster Depot for lunch.  These plans were blown to pieces early in the day, when a lady asked if she could share my table at the buffet.

This lady and I start chatting, and it was as if we had been related to each other in a prior life.  We chatted from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm without stopping.  She never picked up on the fact that I am not a cisgender woman, as I code shifted my conversation to refer to my life with my late wife as if she were my late husband.  We talked about many of the things that only women could experience, such as "Boob Sweat" and struggles with one's bra.  We talked about our late spouses.  And we talked about what we liked about the opposite sex.  (I can translate well in a pinch.)  So, when her friend called her, I took this as a good opportunity to make my way to Fort Point via trolley car and bus.

Getting to Fort Point from Pier 27 is relatively easy.  One takes the historic trolley to Fisherman's Wharf, then walks a couple of blocks to catch the 28 bus to the Golden Gate Bridge.  From there, it's a walk of 0.8 miles (all downhill) to the shoreline and then to the Fort.  Once I paid my respects to my late wife (for which this might be the last time), I decided to make it back to the bus station for my return to the ship.  What was an "easy" 0.8 mile downhill walk was an arduous 200 foot uphill trek back (over the same 0.8 miles) to the bus stop.  By the time I reached the bus stop, I felt that I needed a shower.  Only one problem - it would have to be quick, because I had a 5:00 pm reservation at the ship's steakhouse and I would likely be a few minutes late.

When I arrived at the ship, I proceeded to my room, then stripped, showered, dressed (in fresh clothing), and reapplied my makeup before going downstairs to dine.  I chose both the sea scallops (with salmon roe) and the French Onion Soup for appetizers before trying the veal chop.  Although the veal chop was good for what it was, I found that it was not the cut of veal that I like to eat because of the texture of the meat.  (Give me a good queen cut of prime rib from Peter Luger any day....)  However, I don't have any regrets in trying this cut of veal, as I try to try out new things to eat whenever I can.

After dinner, I realized that I needed to rest, and I fell out for an hour or so.  Shortly after waking up for a while, I exchanged a series of messages with RQS before calling it an early night.