Eastern Caribbean Cruise 2025 - Embarkation Day (11/26/25)

 

This was a day where we didn't have to rush.  Cunard sent us a notice that embarkation time was 2 hours later than originally planned.  I knew better than to trust traffic on the BQE on the day before Thanksgiving (the 4th Thursday of November in the US), so we planned to reach the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal only 1 hour later than called for.

Having an extra 2 hours to relax made things much easier for us.  RQS was able to go out and pick up something for us to eat for breakfast, while I had the time to shower at my leisure.  We were ready to go to the terminal by 1 pm, and had summoned an Uber for a 2 pm pickup.  Just after I had brought all of our luggage to the main floor, I found out that the Uber was arriving early.  So, I was glad that I started this preparation a little early, rather than waiting until almost 2 pm.

It took an hour to reach the cruise terminal, and it was the emptiest I've ever seen the place.  From the time we dropped our bags off to the time we were on the ship, it seemed like we were continually in motion.  It took (maybe) 10 minutes at most to enter the terminal, go through security, get our boarding passes stamped, and walk onto the ship.  Finding our room once on the ship took longer, as we had to bypass the crowds at the elevators (they are too small, and there are not enough of them) to get to our cabin.

Once in our cabins, we were able to relax.  But we still had to check in at our muster station.  Once that was done, it was time for a small nibble before finding out what to do for our internet setup.  And here is where we were disappointed: RQS thought she was buying internet service for 1 device for each of us, instead for the two of us.  That's OK - we know how to share.  At least, we can switch devices as needed, unlike MSC's internet offering.

Around 7 pm we went downstairs for dinner.  We weren't sure of what to expect.  How good would the dinner be?  Would we enjoy our choices?  Would we enjoy the formality?  Well, to answer those questions, we liked our menu choices, we found the servers' formality pleasant and comfortable, and we found our meals tasty - even though RQS had to send back an accidentally overcooked steak.  As one could say - "So far, So good."  We shall see what the rest of the trip brings. 

 

A Bronx Tale (a great story, but a short post)

 

Last night, RQS came up a day early for the weekend, so that she could come to game night, and then go to see Chazz Palminteri in "A Bronx Tale" tonight.  It took a little bit of schedule coordination, so that we could get some chores done before getting together.

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I won't go into detail about game night, save to mention that hardly anyone came.  People who normally attend didn't, so bringing RQS made it possible to play a game or two.  We went home for the evening, and planned our schedule for the next day: getting a mani-pedi, doing some food shopping, and seeing Chazz's play.

The next morning, we got dressed and went out for a mani-pedi.  When the afternoon came around, we started to go to Fishkill to shop at Walmart.  Yes, this would mean that as soon as we got home that I'd have to put some lamb shoulder ribs in the oven and hope everything would be done by 6 pm.   But traffic got in the way.  So, we turned around and went to the local supermarket and picked up what I was planning on picking up in Fishkill.

Once done with food shopping, we went home, and I started cooking the lamb shoulder.  With a few mishaps, the lamb was ready around 6:15, and we were able to start out for the theater around 7:00.  Even then, we had to park 1/4 mile away from the theater due to the nature of parking in Peekskill.  (Not enough street parking, but lots of parking in nearby parking lots.)

The play started late, but it gradually got riveting.  For those who haven't seen it, this one man show documents a period in young Chazz's life where he is befriended by a local mobster for whom he did a solid when he was 9, to the time where that mobster was gunned down in front of Chazz 7 years later.  What was most impressive about this play was Chazz's appearance on stage, telling how he refused $1,000,000 to have Robert De Niro perform the lead in the film adaptation, and then having De Niro say that he was right - and partnered with De Niro to make the movie and jump start Chazz's career.

If you ever get the chance to see the play (or movie), do so!

Starting off another weekend (a short post)

 

I didn't have much to write about today.  It's hard to believe that we only got back from our New England / Eastern Canada cruise a little over a week ago.  And yet, it feels like forever in some ways.  RQS is finally replacing her bathroom sink faucet, something her landlord should be doing.  Now, she soon will be able to use her sink without having to play around, trying to get cold water out of a faucet that doesn't work right.

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Lately, I often wake up early in the morning, and feel very tired by early afternoon. Today, it wasn't as bad as usual.  Yet, I didn't start my drive down to RQS's place until 3 pm, and I hit traffic jams going to RQS's place which caused me to arrive 2½ hours later.  Luckily, I found a decent parking spot within 2 blocks of her house.

Originally, when we were getting to know each other, RQS wasn't sure about me meeting her at her place as Marian.  Now, it's a matter of comfort for me.  It's nice to know that I'm able to wear the clothes I want, when I want to wear them.  RQS is a keeper.   

So, why did I drive down today?  Well, I still had a large suitcase waiting to go home, and I needed my car to take care of that mission.  Additionally, I was traveling as Marian, and I wanted to be in air conditioned comfort on my way to Queens. Even though I tried a new route that caused me to lose a little time driving down, I was glad to have made the choices I did for this trip.

When I arrived, it was not yet time for dinner.  Yet, we decided to order a pizza and stuff ourselves.  It was an early end of the day for both of us, as we passed out before 10 pm. 

A split weekend with RQS

 

(The Marxes made more sense than our current government.)

I spent the Labor Day weekend with RQS.  Half of the time at my apartment, and the other half at hers.  She needed to replace her printer, and I needed to spend as much time in Marian mode as I could.  Given that I would be the one driving her from the computer store to buy her new printer, and back home to install it, this made perfect sense.

As expected, RQS arrived on Friday afternoon, and we decided to go out to eat.  This time, we drove to an AYCE (all you can eat) sushi place in Yonkers, where we chowed down on some delightful grub.  And then, I suggested that we stop by Micro Center and pick up a new printer.  I knew that if RQS bought the same printer as I had in my place, that she'd likely be happy. So I steered her to buying the exact same printer as I owned, and she got it on sale - $20 less than I paid for mine. After buying the printer, we drove home to relax - and we did do through Saturday.  Neither of us wanted to go out.  This meant that a possible dinner with Vicki was out.  So, I cooked some chicken I had in the fridge, and stayed in until Sunday morning.

Oft times, I joke with RQS about going to church while she stays asleep on the bed.  Well, as much as I thought about going back to sleep when the alarm rang, I decided to wake up and make this weekend's service.  By the time things were over, I called RQS, and was bring home Mickey D's for us to eat around 12:30.  Within 90 minutes, we were off to her place, hitting almost no traffic on the way there.  If we had waited until the next day, we'd be stuck in traffic.

Labor day came, and I had to leave.  It was nice to spend another weekend as Marian, knowing that when we take our next cruise, I'll be stuck for two weeks as Mario. 

A trip to Daryl's House with Vicki

 

Daryl Hall (of Hall and Oates) owns a music venue in Pawling, NY that was once occupied by the Towne Crier Cafe (now in Beacon, NY).  Tonight, one of Vicki's favorite performers, Martin Sexton, performed there, and we went up for dinner and a show.

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My day started with me starting to write an entry for my cruise related blog.  Although experienced travelers would have packing for a cruise down to a science, inexperienced travelers might need guidance.  This entry is meant to give those people some of the guidance they need.  While writing this entry, I decided to catch up on laundry, and put 3 loads through the washer and dryer.  By the time the laundry was done, I turned off the computer, brought the laundry upstairs, and then proceeded to get ready to meet Vicki at her place.

Given how warm it was today, I decided to wear the dress above.  I figured that the less I wore, the less oppressive this weather would be for me.  Even this would make me feel like I was wearing too much due to the heat and humidity outside.  But I digress.  Leaving my apartment at 4:45 pm, I knew that I'd make it to Vicki's place by 5:00 pm.  Yet, Vicki was expecting me to be a little late, and we didn't start our journey to Pawling for another 10 minutes.

Now, driving to Pawling during rush hour is rarely a pleasant drive.  If one takes the most commonly used routes from Vicki's house, one would drive to Route 684, then follow Route 22 North to Pawling.  One problem - traffic along this stretch of road moves very slow during rush hour.  So, Vicki consulted Google for directions (I feel that she depends on Google too much for my taste), and it took us through back roads to get near Pawling.  Given how remote this area is, I would not consider returning via this road at night.

On our way there, we discussed many things - with Vicki trying to take control of the conversation when I was discussing will making.  I didn't need any advice on how to make a will.  Instead, I simply needed to figure out what I want to have done with my assets when I pass away.  I wasn't venting. All I was doing was to state where my mind was at, and she went into problem solving mode.  Thankfully, I have her as a friend and not as a spouse. 

We reached Pawling at 6:00 pm, and were seated 1 table away from the stage.  I ordered the fried calamari appetizer and a huge pork chop for dinner - and I'd order both again the next time we are there.  Dinner was over for us around 7:00 pm, and we killed an hour before Martin Sexton came on stage.  Both of us enjoyed his performance of Beatle songs (his latest album covered the entire Abbey Road album), and I found it interesting that Vicki enjoyed some Beatle music.  (Long story here, which I'm not in the mood to cover now.)  After a break, he performed a set of his own music, and the show was over by 10:00 pm.

For our return, Vicki knew that the easiest way home was the most direct way home.  I was home by 11:00 pm and ready to call it a night.
 

 

Replacing the water heater was the reason for another drive to Long Island.

 

Before plumbing work

After plumbing work

As I mentioned yesterday, I couldn't park near RQS's house, and I had to drive back to Croton to stay the night.  So, today, I had to drive back to Long Island to let the plumber into the family homestead to replace the water heater.  This meant that I would have to get up early and spend 90 minutes driving to Long Island instead of finding somewhere to kill 2 1/2 hours before the plumber arrived.  Since I'd be in a position where Mario would be expected, this took away another chance to spend a day as Marian.

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Rushing to be on time, I got showered, dressed, and was out of the house by 10:15.  What happens when one rushes?  One forgets to take one's morning pills.  This would make it the second day in a row that I forgot to take some of my medicines.  So I know to double check this before I leave in the morning and when I come back at night.  But I digress.  Something must be going on with Android Auto updates, as I couldn't get a clean connection between my car's head unit and my phone.  Twice on the way to the family homestead, I decided to reboot the phone, reestablish Bluetooth connectivity, but to no avail.  Figuring things out would have to wait until I was ready to go home.

Arriving at the house a little bit before noon, I had to double check to see whether the plumbers were coming.  They were a few minutes late, but got to work quickly.  About 3 1/2 hours later, the new water heater was installed and the gas lines tested for leaks.  (Sadly, we may need to run new gas lines within the house, as replacement will likely be cheaper than repairs.  Ouch!)  And then, it was all over for the day.  So, I fought rush hour traffic on the way home, and arrived at my apartment around 5:15 or so - and proceeded to rest for the evening.

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Given that we will need to have more work done in the house, I will need to coordinate a day which works with my schedule, RQS's schedule, and the plumber's schedule for the next visit.  Since the day would begin around 8:30, I'd have to stay over RQS's place the night before, so that I don't have to fight bridge traffic that morning.  Hopefully, this can be done before my next trip.  If not, it will be done afterwards. 

 

 

PS: My brother told me that the additional plumbing work will cost an extra $4,000. This means that we will not add a half-bath to the house.  Instead, we will either again rent out the house or sell it at today's high prices.

Visiting TCL for lunch.

 

It's been a while since I've seen TCL.  She prefers to see me as Mario, and I try to schedule "Mario Days" as rarely as possible.  So, I scheduled a Mario Day, in order for her to feel comfortable wen I visited.

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As I've mentioned in this blog, I prefer to spend as much time as possible as Marian.  But, having spent the past holiday and a long weekend as Marian, it was time for me to go out in the world as Mario for a change.  And this was the right call, not only because of TCL's preferences, but because TCL had me assist her in both the search for a lost TV remote control, and in corralling her cat so he could be pilled.

But first....

Parking near the chosen restaurant gets very crowded by 1:00 pm.  This meant that I'd have to get to TCL's place by 12:30 pm, to be able to park near the restaurant.  We were able to find a parking spot and get inside the restaurant by 1:00 pm, and settled down to a nice, filling lunch.  In addition to the Chicken Gorgonzola, I had soup, salad, and an appetizer of Eggplant Rollatine.  Everything we ate was yummy, neither of us having room for dessert.  While eating, my meal was interrupted by a call from my sleep doctor's office.  Now, I have my appointment for a consult, which will be followed by another sleep test, and hopefully another CPAP prescription.

When we drove back to TCL's place, it was "the hunt for the lost remote control."  We moved chairs, sofas, side tables, and storage containers in this search - and I couldn't help but work up an unneeded sweat.  Eventually, we found the remote control and it was time to rest for a while before pilling the cat.  This wasn't has hard as it sounds, as her cat was totally under her control while it was fed its medicine.

Soon afterward, I had to go home.  I was glad to get out of her place by 3:30 pm, as traffic was starting to back up in Rockland county on the bridge approach.  Although I had planned to do 2, 3 and maybe a 4th load of laundry, I stayed in my air conditioned apartment and relaxed all evening.

Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/15/24 (Leaving for Southampton and starting our cruise)

 

This was one of the most uneventful parts of our trip so far, and yet I feel that there is something important to note....

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London traffic makes New York, Chicago and Los Angeles traffic look like their drivers are running in the Indianapolis 500.  Given the distance between Heathrow Airport and London's central district, it took 2+ hours to reach out hotel.  Going to Southampton was worse, as it took 3 hours to reach the cruise terminal - an hour of that inside metropolitan London itself.  This is one city in which I never will under any circumstances drive any motor vehicle, nor should any one else do so unless s/he is a bus driver.

Arriving at the cruise terminal, I was impressed at how quickly we were processed, given that Princess Cruises' computers were acting up and that they both had to find our Medallions and warn us that our security photos might have to be retaken onboard the ship.  (We were lucky - we scanned onto the ship without problems.)

Our first stop was to our cabin, where we found a plate of chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us.  Once we watched the muster video, it was off to the grill for burgers and dogs before checking in at our muster station.  But this was not the only thing we had to do.  RQS had bought an extra pair of specialty dinners that were not being recorded on the folio.  First, we had to nap, as we were still suffering from disruption to our sleep schedules.

After our nap, it was off to the main dining room (MDR) for dinner, where we had an enjoyable chat with two families residing in the UK.  Towards the end of dinner, I got on my soapbox a little and mentioned that the populist, right wing, authoritarian trends we're seeing in the west shouldn't be unfamiliar, as they are the same as what happened in Europe in the 1920's and 1930's.  (RQS said that I didn't go too far or too heavy on the topic.)  Luckily, I didn't offend the families, as I was feeling no pain after two glasses of wine and a double espresso with two shots of Sambuca.

Finally, we were off to Guest Services, where our claim of having 4 paid for specialty dinners was confirmed.  We could now rest easily for the evening. And, boy did I need to rest - this was the first time I could say that I wasn't sober enough to drive in years.  I'm glad I left that task to the ship's captain....

Getting our nails done

 

Today was reserved for a RQS and I to get a Mani-Pedi together, and then to drive her to her home to Queens.  We didn't get moving until mid day, and this didn't cause us any problems.

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After a filling brunch, we decided to go to the nail salon.  This week, I decided to take RQS to a new salon, where RQS was more than happy with the work they did on her fingers and toes.  When something was slightly off, the nail technician (what do you call these ladies?) noticed it, and fixed it without us having to bring it to her attention.  (She wants to go to this salon again soon.)  As we exited, RQS suggested that we go to Carvel - and I opened up the door to Carvel after walking less than 10 feet from the nail salon.  (She didn't know that there was a Carvel next door to the nail salon, and was pleasantly surprised by this coincidence.)

Once we were done with our ice cream, it was time to pick up her stuff and drive her home.  I told her that this would be my last trip to Long Island for a couple of weeks, as traffic will be screwed up on the roads I use to get to her apartment due to the US Open and a NY Mets home stand.. I warned her that if I couldn't find a spot near to her apartment, I would have to drop her off and see her next weekend.  But we were lucky - I found a spot less than a block away.  So we carried her stuff upstairs then went out for a quick bite to eat.

When we were done with dinner, we went back to RQS's place, where we got to cuddle.  At this point I found out a few good things about how things have been going from her perspective, and that she was  more than comfortable with me in both Mario and Marian presentations.  (She has come to enjoy being with me in Marian mode, as she can share even more things with me than she'd expect from a typical boyfriend.)

All too soon, I had to leave.  But I am feeling very good right now....

A tale of 3 dummy lights.

 

 

 (Dummy light in Canajoharie, NY)

Dummy lights are an anomaly in traffic control.  By modern standards, they are relatively unsafe.  They usually interfere with traffic flow, often being the indirect cause of many accidents.  Yet, three of these lights survive in New York State.  This is my tale of the three lights.

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(Dummy light in Croton, NY)

 
The Croton dummy light is very familiar to me, as I live in this town.  Unlike most dummy lights, it is not in the middle of the intersection.  Instead, it's off to the side, and tends NOT to interfere with traffic flow.  

I find it amazing that this light has survived so long.  Yet, keeping this light makes more sense than replacing it.  Installing a newer style of traffic control would ruin the character of the village, as the dummy light would need to be replaced by one (or more) hanging street light(s) whose supports would ruin the appearance of the intersection AND might make it even more dangerous.

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(Dummy light in Beacon, NY)

Like Croton's dummy light, Beacon's light also is an anomaly.  It does not interfere with traffic flow.  And, like Croton's light, adds to the character of the part of town in which it resides.  I've eaten at several restaurants in walking distance of this light, and consider it something that the town should preserve at all costs.

When I first came to the Hudson Valley, Beacon was a dump.  Thirty years later, it is one of those places that New York City residents have fallen in love with and have planted the seeds for its gentrification.  Of course, gentrification has resulted in problems for many long time residents of the valley - they can no longer afford to live here.  

I first started visiting Beacon on a regular basis when I first started going out as Marian.  First, I went to a game night meetup being held by a woman trying to draw new business to her restaurant.  (This meetup has since been disbanded, but that's another tale covered in my previous blog.)  Then, I attended a woman's meetup group for a while. This gave me needed practice going out as Marian, and gave me the confidence that I could live in the outside world as my authentic self.  (It's hard to believe that my ex girlfriend once attended this group, as she needed a ride from me to get back to her car being repaired the next day.) Eventually, this group died when the owner of the restaurant where we usually met decided to shut down the restaurant and to eventually move out of the region.

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(Dummy light in Canajoharie, NY)

On Mother's day, I decided to take a drive up to Cooperstown, NY to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame.  It was more of an excuse to get out of the house and distract myself from the boredom that has permeated my life for the past 18 months or so.   While on my trip (as Mario), I ended up seeing the one remaining dummy light in Canajoharie, NY on my way home from the HOF.

There was no reason for me to be in Canajoharie this day.  If I had a better internal road map of the area, I would not have even bothered being near this place.  But I saw a sign telling me that I could reach Route I-90 (New York Thruway) from a given road, and I made the mistake of taking that road as the rain was starting to pour.

Canajoharie is a town that time left behind.  The most notable part of the town is a large factory that shut down years ago, leaving the town with no reason for being.  And when I drove through the town, I became glad that I live in the Hudson Valley, a region which is undergoing a rebirth.

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Dummy lights are anomalies - just like me.  I'm glad that I've seen all three of these curiosities, as I expect that some law enacted in the future will cause them to be removed.  We will be losing something important when that this eventually happens.