Home Safe and sound

We made it home safe and sound. It rained most of the way and I am very tired so I will type tomorrow, right now I am going to call it a night
GO CANUCKS GO!!!

Very Nice Day

We had a lovely day. It was sunny and warm and so we took good advantage of the warmth and the sunshine.
After breakfast we walked the mile around the track. Then we did a bit of work around the trailer. We had a good visit with Harvey and \Jeanne and we decided to go to lunch together. There is a buffet at the Casino and we will go there. But before that I sat out and got some sun and Ken put the awnings out so he could make sure they were dry. Around two we went to the Casino and had a great lunch. We got a free deck of cards which we really didn't need since we have 11 decks on board.
When we came back here we decided to go to the pool, unfortunately there was a group of children at the pool. But we sat in the sun and enjoyed there energy. When they left we had 10 minutes to be in the water before the next group arrived.
Then we came back here and |I decided to test Skype. I figured out how to use it and Harvey and Jeanne helped us do a test run.
We found the hockey game on the computer. We can't watch it but we can listen to it.
I'm glad we decided to stay here for the day.
We will head out early in the morning.
Tomorrow night we will be home, at least for a couple of weeks.

Sunny Here

It is a beautiful sunny morning so we have decided to stay here for today and head out tomorrow.

Back in Toppenish

We headed for Boise in Good Time on Sunday.
The travelling was good with light traffic and sunshine.
We arrived in Boise around supper time. We are parked at the Wal-mart shopping center which is only a few blocks from Steve's home.
 We chatted with Tom and learned that Loren and Sylvia were in a motel near by. We talked with Sylvia for a few minutes and then we went shopping at Wal-mart for milk and other groceries.
When we came back to the trailer Loren and Sylvia arrived and came in for a glass of wine and a short visit.
They will pick us up around 9:15 in the morning. The service is scheduled for ten.
They we had some supper, took our meds and called it a night.

Loren and Sylvia picked us up and we went to the Southminister Presbyterian Church.
The service was very nice and it was well attended. We had a chance to visit with Steve at the reception. He was very happy to see us. Mable Ann and Burdell were there so the club was very well represented.

We headed out and connected to the freeway around noon mountain time. We had some rain but it was not heavy at all. I was able to finish 2 hats going and 2 hats coming back. I think that brings me to 71 hat finished.

 We arrived back here at Toppenish around six Pacific time. Harvey and Jeanne Kidd are here and so the four of us went to supper together. We found a lovely Mexican American eating place and afterwards Harvey drove us around to see some of the murals in the town.

We are back here catching up on a few things. We have not decided if we will spend one more night here or leave tomorrow. The weather forecast is not great, there is a large group of young people here in the park, and it appears as if they will not be covering the hockey game on this cable selection. I think we will be on our way home in the morning.

Farmers Market

This is Saturday and the visit to the Farmers Market is scheduled.We loaded up the truck with Phil and Judy and Jean Kidd and away we went. It was a usual market with lots of good stuff to eat and lots of crafts.There was a nice little band playing in a small bandstand. They were quite entertaining.
We saw some beautiful wine barrel furniture, actually a table and stools. If we had room for and reason to buy I would have been tempted.

We are downsizing and trying to reduce stuff and I have to keep
reminding myself of that.:-)

Anyway we bought a small bottle of honey and some kettle corn and 2 scrubies. Then we went to a Starbucks for coffee. I found a bead store but it so too high priced for me.
Then it was back here for lunch.
Ken called Tom and we learned that the service for Beth Bancroft is on Monday. We have decided to make a quick run to Idaho so we can attend her service. Steve is a good friend and it will mean a lot to him if we attend.
The farewell dinner is tonight and we will leave here in good time in the morning.

Fort Walla Walla

 
This was the day we went to the Fort. It was similar to Fort Langley in that there were buildings from the past but the walls are not there like it is at Fort Langley. They had wonderful exhibits in several buildings. We were so interested that the tour guide had to turn us over to another guide because she had an appointment. Whlie in the gift shop I bought some special mustard.
A guide recommended a place called Dutch Lunch and the food was terrific.
We shopped a little and then headed back to the park. We went to Happy Hour and Gail was showing jewellery, sort of a jewellery party. I bought a lovely pendant. It is a dogwood flower made of Mother of Pearl. I really like it.
We decided to skip dinner at Applebees in favour of watching some of the hockey game. Phil and Judy joined. We had to leave at the end of the first period because the group was attending a play. It was called The Spelling Bee and it was so very good. We really enjoyed it.
Then we came back here and called it a night.

 
Thursday May 19,
The organizer of the rally said we had 2 field trips today... guess what she did for a living.
Anyway the first tour was to the Blaze King factory. They make the best wood burning appliances and our tour was great. This is a photo of the group of us in front of the plant.

Next we all went to lunch together and then it was on the Neilson Irrigation to see how they make those HUGE irrigation fixtures that we see in the fields.
We had happy hour and ate dinner in the rig because we wanted to watch the hockey game. It was a great day and the weather has been wonderful.
Tomorrow we are off to Fort Walla walla, and a play.

The Rally Begins

 
We woke and had breakfast and then we went for a walk around their track. We left the park around ten o'clock.
We had no problem getting here. We arrived and checked in around 12:30. While Ken hooked up I made lunch and got everything dome inside. We are next to Tom.
There was a lot of hugs and greetings happening. We visited with old friends during happy hour. Then three Canadian couples and Tom went out to dinner together. The ice cream social was planned for 7:30. Ken and I watched the second and third periods of the hockey game. Phil and Judy joined us for the third period. We enjoyed it , the Canucks won. Then they went to their rig and we got ready to call it a night. There are 2 tours tomorrow and we have to line up at nine.
It was a great day and tomorrow should be a lot of fun also

On the Road again

 

Tuesday May 17, 2011
We are on the road again. We spent yesterday getting the trailer ready and we crossed the border at Sumas around 10:45 this morning. We stopped for diesel fuel. Even though the tank was down to 1/8 it still cost us 127.00 to fill up. We may have to reconsider that trip across the country if the price of fuel keeps rising.
Next stop was at the Wal-Mart in Marysville. We picked up some groceries and some wine. I got 8 balls of yarn for my toques.
We arrived at the Yakima Nation RV Park in Toppenish around seven. Ken set up and I got supper ready. This is a very nice park; we have stayed here a couple of times before. We had hoped to use the pool and hot tub tonight but it is very cool and so we decided to pass on that. Ken tried to cssll jennie again but we keep missing her.
It is supposed to have WIFI but I don’t seem to be able to get connected. This update will have to wait to get posted.
The sunset is particularly beautiful so I took a couple of pictures of it .I will try to include them in this posting.

I Got the Music

 
This is a shot of the Princess singers and dancers in the show. I Got The Music

3 ships

 
I saw three ships... The Sapphire which we are on , a Holland America ship in front of us and the Golden Princess to the Right

 
This is baby Leo with new toy Lion.

Noah in his birthday Jersey

 

Return Home

This was supposed to be finished but I have to add a Post Script.
We arrived home with no difficulty and part of my routine is to pick up phone messages.
I found that we had a message from Princess.
Would you believe they wanted to know if we would be interested in trading our balcony for a night in The Owners Suite???
That would have been a suite complete with a Jacuzzi and all of the bells and whistles but we were already on the road when the call arrived.....
What a bummer.
I can only imagine what that suite would have been like.

We will be busy packing the trailer tomorrow and hopefully we will get on the road fairly early on Tuesday... Then it is off to the RV rally in Walla Walla Washington.
If there is a connection I will blog along the way.

The One Day Wonder,

This is the day that we change ships.
We were up early and we disembarked without problems and we met Kerri and Noah and Stewart and Leo at the near by Starbucks. We gave Noah his hockey jersey which was his gift for his 13th birthday. Leo was a delight as usual.
The kids left us around 11:15 and we headed back to the ship. We considered walking around for awhile but it was cool and we decided to just return to the ship. It took us almost an hour because of the line up. There are 4 ships in port today and we were told the total number of passengers was more than 14,000 . Amazing, truly amazing.
Anyway we did get back and decided to go to the buffet for lunch. We were eating and enjoying the scenery when we noticed an especially long line forming on the dock at Canada Place which was below us. We would learn later that it was the line up to clear security and go through customs. Some people were in line as long as 4 hours. The problem was just volume. Apparently they can handle 2 ships but 4 is just beyond them.
We went for a short tour of the ship, getting reacquainted since this is the same ship we were on for the Hawaian cruise. We went to Skywalkers for the Platinum Cruise members special drink and nibblies. The drink was a Cosmopolitian and it was very good. There was a shrimp fountain which is always yummy.
The Sail away and Emergency drill were delayed by 2 hours because of the problem getting people on board. When it was time to sail the captain announced that because there were 800 passengers who were still not on board, departure would be delayed.
We had anytime dining and we then took in the production show. It was great as usual.
We shopped a little, Ken bought a bottle of dark rum and then we went to Horizon Court for some lemonade and a cookie.
Then we called it a night.
We will be up early in the morning and then on our way back to Abbotsford.
All too soon our little adventure has come to an end.

Dessert Extravaganza

At the Captain's Circle cocktail Party

Ken and I having a speciality coffee

Day three

Day three,

Well this is our last day. Again I say this has been way too short.

The day was gray and cool but it was a cruise day so that makes it a good day.

The sea was rough and we rocked most of the night. I had to take a Gravol because things were not great. We went to the dining room for breakfast and we sat with very nice people so we had great conversation as well as good food. I had one poached egg on toast and Ken had pancakes.

After breakfast I checked out the outlet sale and there was nothing that I wanted.

Today was the dessert special and again I went up and took pictures and left before I was tempted to have some of the many wonderful goodies.

We each had a half sandwich and a piece of cheese and a tart for lunch. Then I had a nap and Ken went to the nature lecture. When he returned we went to the Piazza and had a special coffee and listened to the Golden Princess band. They played a selection of Dixieland music. While we were there the cookie man came by and I took his picture but for the first time we passed on the cookies and milk.

There was supposed to be a meeting of Red Hatters but no one showed up. I had my poncho and head band just in case.

After that we came back to our room to change for dinner and the Captain’s Circle Cocktail party.

The party was good as usual, lots of free cocktails and canapés. Wayne and Carol found us and so we sat together and had a few pictures taken.

When it was over we rushed to the dining room. Richard and Andy were waiting. Tonight we both had scallops. It was baked Alaska night which is always fun.

Ken gave the tip envelopes to the guys. We returned here to change and I discovered that I won a prize for my answer on the Wake Show this morning. The prize is a key ring thing.

We went to the Princess Theatre to watch Darrel Joyce. He was a comedian and he was very funny. Wayne and Carol came in just as the show was about to begin. They had won trophies for their ballroom waltz.

After the show we returned here to pack and put out our bags. Princess is going to move them to the Sapphire for us.:-)

Then we went up to Horizon Court to get some protein and a drink so I can take my pills.

What an event filled day this was.!!!

Tomorrow we disembark, meet Kerri and Noah for coffee and a chance to wish Noah a happy birthday.

We will give little Leo his lion and give Noah his hockey jersey and then we board the sapphire Princess to sail away to Seattle.

This was a great cruise but then again all cruises are great.

We are on our way to Skywalkers

Ken and Wayne at the Pub Lunch

Carol and I at the Pub Lunch

Mixed Up

I have been posting daily but for some reason when I checked this morning some posts were not there so I posted again. Fortunately I had saved them all.

The long and short is you may have to read in order of written and not in order posted.
So it should be
Quality Inn
In the Air
On Board
Day one
Day two
Busy Day continues.

Good Luck with it all.
I will try to repost pictures later today
Hugs
Carolyn

In the Air

In the air,

We are in the air on our way to LA. So far the flight has been very smooth.

Last evening after the hockey game ended we went out and got some supper and brought it back to our room. We watched a bit more TV Ken got a shower and we called it a night.

Our wake up call came at five but we were up already. Our room was near the lobby and so we could hear people chatting and laughing as they waited for their shuttle.

We boarded the shuttle right on time and were at the airport in just a few minutes. We breezed through security without a problem and so we had an hour and a half to kill before boarding.

We had some breakfast, took our meds and people watched for a while. The thing we noticed while we were having breakfast was the chairs. We ate in an area that was like a food court in that there were vendors all around a common seating area. The seating was very nice with lovely wooden tables and chairs. But not all of the chairs were the same … in fact it reminded me of Goldilocks. There were the regular chairs and then there were some that were wider and there were some that were wider still. In fact the biggest ones were as wide as 2 chairs would be. They were not built higher and they were made of the same dark walnut colored wood. I guess the airlines are making allowances for the increased, supersized passengers.

 There is a group of teenagers on board. It appears to be a band field trip. As we watched them we were glad that we are older and retired and not in charge.  Being older is sometimes a good thing.

When on board we were pleasantly surprised to find that our carry on luggage fit perfectly in the above compartment. Alaska Airlines enforces the policy regarding how much luggage you can carry on so there was room for everyone to stow there one bag above and their purse etc on the floor in front of them.

We are above the clouds and we are in the sun up here. Ken just pointed out the top of Mount Shasta. It has a lot of snow on it this year.

We can see a lot of snow down there. We land in just over an hour from now.

On Board

On Board,

The flight was perfect and we had no problem finding a cab to take us to San Pedro. Next time, I will make arrangements ahead of time. The taxi charged us 67.75 and I am certain I could have done better.

Anyway we arrived safely and checking in was the best ever.. I think it was the fastest also. We waited less than 10 minutes in the Preferred lounge. We were directed there because of our platinum card. It went very smoothly.

We found our room . It is great, we sure do enjoy a balcony. hee heeThe name of our room stewart is one I really can’t begin to pronounce. Mochai  Sukprasansup

Next we went to Horizon Court for lunch. It was amazing as always. I had a lot of fruit and some scallops. Ken had scallops and salmon and prime rib and salad.

On our cruise card it says that we dine at 7:30 and I knew that was a mistake so we went to see about it. Apparently there was a computer glitch and all of the 5:30 people have cards that say 7:30. It is straightened out and we dine at 5:30.

We browsed through the art gallery, took some pictures of the atrium special places, stopped to watch a couple of young comedians who were entertaining on Plaza deck. They were quite entertaining and they had gathered good  crowd. Then we returned to our room.

We unpacked and then sat out on the balcony to get some sun. It is an absolutely glorious day and we might not be this lucky tomorrow.

English Pub Lunch

English Pub Lunch

We met Wayne and Carol out in front of the Crown Grill. There was entertainment in the Atrium, so we stopped and watched for a while and then we spied them and we got into line. There were about 10 of us in line. We asked for and got a window seat. Never having tasted Guinness I decided that this was the time. I ordered Fish and Chips and it was very good( my May fries). We sat and laughed and visited for about an hour or more then we left. Amazingly there was a lineup of about 50 people waiting to get in. One of the staff was outside serving hor douvers to the people in line. We certainly would have hurried if we had known people were waiting.

After lunch we went to each other’s staterooms, we wanted to see their and they wanted to see ours. We have made plans to meet for the evening show in the Princess theatre and then we will go together to watch Carlos Oscar again.

It is going to be a busy evening because the Champagne waterfall is tonight as well.

Oh my how I love cruising.:-)

Day one

We quickly got ready, grabbed our life jackets and headed for the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet.

It was well attended and while we were laughing and visiting we suddenly came face to face with Wayne and Carol Anthony. What a surprise that was. Apparently they had booked in February right after we discussed it and they kept it a secret for all of this time.

We went to muster and then after it was over we came back to our room to further enjoy the balcony. We called Wendy and had a little chat with her.

Next we went topside to take pictures of Angel’s gate lighthouse and enjoy the sail away party. I think this is the most lively sail away party. It was not cold and a lot of people were taking in the sun. The music was very good and not too loud which has often been the case.

We came back and dressed for dinner. It is a smart casual night. So far we have only 2 people at our table… 2 oriental ladies. Dinner was terrific as usual. I had the Alaskian Salmon and it was beautifully done.

After dinner we ran into Carol and Wayne and we visited with them for awhile. We went to the Princess Theatre for the show. Carlos Oscar , the comedian is here and we loved his comedy.

After the show we went topside and I got 3 glasses of water. And we returned to our room. There is a lot more we could do but we decided to call it a night. I love the smooth rocking of the ship.

Day two,

We woke quite early, watched the Wake Show, I had my shower and then we went to Breakfast. We ate in the dining room and we shared the table with 4 other people. Two of those people were from Mission and 2 were from Seattle, a west coast table to be sure. I had an egg benedict and it was the best I have ever enjoyed.

We then took care of some chores, bought a Princess coffee mug, got a sticker for Ken’s passport, answered the Wake Show question, picked up Future Cruise Deposit forms, we have arranged to meet Wayne and Carol for lunch. We are having English Pub Lunch at the Crown Grill.

The weather is kind of gray so we probably won’t be spending a bunch of time on our wonderful balcony.

Busy Day Continues

Came back to our room and we decided to have a rest to get ready for our fun evening.

We changed and then went to the photo gallery to look for our pictures, then we went to Horizon Court and we picked up a glass of iced tea. Then we made our way to Skywalkers Lounge. This is a beautiful place on deck 18, the highest point on the ship. We had our pictures taken here and I took several pictures of it. This is the location of the special drinks and appetizers for the Platinum and Elite passengers. Today’s drink was a wonderful Port. I could get used to having a glass of port before dinner.

Next we made our way to the dining room. Richard and Andy were waiting for us. Tonight’s special meal is Surf and Turf which we all enjoyed. I had the e sugar free dessert and as usual it was delicious.

Tonight is the Champagne waterfall and the welcome by the Captain. We took some pictures, got our glass of champagne and made our way to the Princess Theatre. We got very good seats and saved seats for Wayne and Carol.

The Princess singers and dancers outdid themselves. This was a new show for Ken and I. Very high energy, lots of pyrotechnics and special effects and costume changes. We loved it.

After the show we stopped at the piano bar and listened to the special music of Daniel Oliver. Then it was on to the Photo Gallery. We did find our photos this time. I like Ken’s but I don’t like mine. We continued on to the Vista to get a good seat where we could enjoy the ballroom dancing and wait for Carlos Oscar. As usual he was very good and we laughed a lot. Wayne and Carol were hearing him for the first time and they really enjoyed his comedy. At the end of the show we went up to Horizon Court for iced tea and I got a piece of cheese.

Off to our room to call it a night. There is some motion and I considered taking a Gravol but decided not to. I slept like a baby, no problem at all.

Came back to our room and we decided to have a rest to get ready for our fun evening.

We changed and then went to the photo gallery to look for our pictures, then we went to Horizon Court and we picked up a glass of iced tea. Then we made our way to Skywalkers Lounge. This is a beautiful place on deck 18, the highest point on the ship. We had our pictures taken here and I took several pictures of it. This is the location of the special drinks and appetizers for the Platinum and Elite passengers. Today’s drink was a wonderful Port. I could get used to having a glass of port before dinner.

Next we made our way to the dining room. Richard and Andy were waiting for us. Tonight’s special meal is Surf and Turf which we all enjoyed. I had the e sugar free dessert and as usual it was delicious.

Tonight is the Champagne waterfall and the welcome by the Captain. We took some pictures, got our glass of champagne and made our way to the Princess Theatre. We got very good seats and saved seats for Wayne and Carol.

The Princess singers and dancers outdid themselves. This was a new show for Ken and I. Very high energy, lots of pyrotechnics and special effects and costume changes. We loved it.

After the show we stopped at the piano bar and listened to the special music of Daniel Oliver. Then it was on to the Photo Gallery. We did find our photos this time. I like Ken’s but I don’t like mine. We continued on to the Vista to get a good seat where we could enjoy the ballroom dancing and wait for Carlos Oscar. As usual he was very good and we laughed a lot. Wayne and Carol were hearing him for the first time and they really enjoyed his comedy. At the end of the show we went up to Horizon Court for iced tea and I got a piece of cheese.

Off to our room to call it a night. There is some motion and I considered taking a Gravol but decided not to. I slept like a baby, no problem at all.

Sail away party

At Quality Inn

We were awake early, excited I guess. Gave up and got up around seven.
We got everything done and left the house at nine. There was little traffic at the border and in spite of choosing the wrong line we were across in a little more than 5 minutes. We went to the Post Office at Sumas and my ribbon order and my new golf shoes were there.
Next we headed to Harry and Susan's. We told them we would be there around ten and Ken pulled into the driveway at 9:59. They had wonderful cinnamon rolls and strawberries along with great coffee for us. We had a wonderful visit and left around 11:30
We gased up in Marysville and headed across Seattle. There were no holdups and we arrived here around 2:30
The Inn is quite nice . We have arranged for a 5:00 wake up call and a shuttle ride to the airport at 5:30.
There is cable in this room and we are enjoying the Detroit, San Jose hockey game.
We will go out and get something to eat as soon as the game is over.
Then we will go to bed early because it will be a short night.
Tomorrow night we will be on board the Golden... can't wait!!

Almost ready to go.

I am sitting here watching the Canucks play hockey while I wait for supper to finish cooking.
My suitcase is closed.and I am mentally going over everything to see if there is anything I have forgotten.
In the morning we head for Bellingham to have coffee with our friends and then on to Seattle, where we will spend the night.
The weather forcast is not looking great but we really don't care Every cruise is a good cruise even if the weather is not perfect.
Stay tuned.
Hugs
Carolyn