Long Beach Rally /June 2016

Well the rally is over and I am recovered so it is time to write a report and let everyone know what they missed.

We had a grand time.
Here are the names of those who attended.

Abramson, Ken and Carolyn,

Battan, Randy and Janeen First timer

Bowman, Lorne and Sylvia

Caskey, Al and Del

Chittick, Larry and Marcia

Coleman, Dave and Lynn Curtis, Kevin and Joan First timer

De Haan, Sid and Frieda

Eckhart, Dick and Carol

Edwards, Lavern and Norma

Eeg, Erik and Rosalie

Firkins, Larry and Helga Fox,  Ed and Carol Goold, Don and Valdene

Kimball, Phil and Leah Lavey, Gerald and Linda

Marsters, Mike and Sandra

Nobel, Sally and Dennis,

Petite, Jerry and Barbara Ruben, Dave and Marg First timer

Trout, Bob and Janet Vorrath, Roland and Marilyn

Willey, Les and Linda There would be 18 rigs, 3 couples would use the Andersen cabins (Edwards,Chittick and Curtis)  and 3 couples would rent a place in town ( Foxx, Lavey and Vorrath)

Ken and I left Abbotsford on Sunday afternoon after church and lunch with our friends. We actually got across the border around three with no problems at all. Traffic ran smoothly with only a short slow down at Everett .

We stopped at Hawks Prairie for supper. It was very nice there because the air conditioning was working. The day was beastly hot on the drive down. Since the air on the Dodge is only partially working it was not the most comfortable ride.

We stopped for the night at Exit 79 on the I5 . By then it had cooled down and we were able to sleep. But when we arrived we were both so tired that we went right to bed. We had shopping to do but we decided that it could wait for morning. In the morning we did our Wal Mart shopping and we got the groceries we needed for ourselves and we got the ice cream for the rally.

We headed out and arrived at Andersens around noon. Al and Del Caskey had arrived only minutes before us. Before long Marg and Dave Ruben pulled in.

We spent the afternoon getting the trailer set up and sorting out all of the stuff for the rally. With Marg’s help the decision was made to hang the swags from the end of the picnic tables that were on each site. The men got busy and moved all of the picnic tables to the front of each site. The swags would be hung in the morning before people arrived. We also had candy canes for each site and they would also be placed at the table

You see last week Frieda Dehaan and Janet Trout and Rosalie Eeg and I got together and made Xmas decorations to be given to each couple as a memento of the rally. These were large bows with glitter covered pine cones hanging from the center of the bows. This glitter is anything but friendly actually it is a little too friendly and it gets on everything so outside was the best location for them. Ken assured us that no one wants glitter inside their rig. Our deck at home is still full of glitter I am sure.

We checked out the club house and carried all of the rally stuff up there so we could decorate tomorrow.
But now it was time for Happy Hour.
Of course we had to get our Santa Hats , after all this is the Christmas in June Rally.

After supper Ken and I and Marg and Dave went down to the beach. In 2014 I didn’t get to the beach even once so I had never seen it. Rally stuff kept me so busy but I made sure to get there this time.

It is a beautiful sandy beach that goes on and on. The sand is powder soft and there are no shells or sea glass to collect. Today is much cooler than yesterday and so we were dressed for the cool ocean breezes.

We slept well and after breakfast it was time to get to work. Ken and Dave moved all of the tables and they put a nail in the end of each table about 2 inches back from the edge and in the center. This spot made the swags hang just so. When we got them in place they looked very festive and very welcoming.
We hung swags outside the 2 cabins , making certain that each couple got one. We set aside 3 for the couples staying in town.The extras were put on the outside of the club house doors.

Next step was to decorate the club house. That huge hot tub in the middle  presented a problem but we worked around it and by noon the club house looked as if a rally was about to begin.

Here is the schedule for the next few days. Busy, Busy, BUSY!!!

Things were very quiet in the morning but soon the rigs began to arrive and by the time happy hour began we had the makings of a party. All of the golfers had arrived and many that were not golfing were already on site. People got into the spirit of things and they dug out their Santa Hats and got into the swing of things. This is going to be a fun rally.

While we were decorating the club house we discovered much to our delight and surprise that 2 deer had decided to check out the munchies in the grassed area near the club house. The comment was made the Santa had sent the reindeer to join our Christmas in June celebration. What could be more perfect??

The morning of June 8th meant the beginning of our rally. Golfers headed out and many of us descended upon the club house . It was time to make the decorations for the tree and to make it look festive and gay. Andersens provided us with a fine little tree.
We made 4 different types of tree decorations. They were very simple so everyone was successful and everyone had a great time and lots of fun.

Marilyn and Marcia brought wall hangings and Leah brought 2 little trees. Linda brought a snoring Santa, Marg brought garland and the elves all set to work.

We put Al to work getting the lights on the tree for us. He and Marg were on top of the pool table making certain our little Charlie Brown tree could look as good as possible. It took some doing but they got it just right.

There were word games to play, a Xmas jig saw puzzle to do and "Get well" cards and "We Are Thinking of You" cards to sign for those who could not join us for health reasons . Those missing and sent greetings were the Bairds, the Reeds, the Kidds, the Candlers, the Goolds and the Bancrofts.

We had our first official Happy Hour with most of the group. We were entertained by Sid and Frieda, Erik and Larry and Les. Their music and the visiting and the laughter made it a perfect fun time. Do you know how much noise can be made by 44 people laughing and singing and reminiscing?

Thursday June 8th, the rally officially begins

Ilwaco Day

The day began with breakfast and line dancing and then car pooling to the Painted Lady Lavender farm. It is only one mile from Ilwaco so it was not a long drive . Ken was in the lead and Al Caskey acted as tail gunner. We had great luck with green lights and we lost no one.

This was a grand adventure , it was such a unique place and it was so much fun.
We were given a guided tour of all of the many little nooks and crannies of the place. We were provided with a lavender beverage and lavender cookies and sandwiches. We were even given a little snack of day lilies to mark the occasion.

She had a lovely little gift shop and several of us made purchases. I bought a sachet to use in the clothes dryer.

There was no official admission charged but we left a stipend of fifty dollars.

What a great part of our Christmas in June celebration!

After the lavender farm we went into Ilwaco and just looked around. We stopped at Don Nesbitts and enjoyed seeing some of his new work. He is so talented. It would be nice to own more of his work.

We had lunch on the board walk. Leah and Phil and Les and Linda were in the same eatery. We had Randy and Janeen with us and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

After lunch we had an hour to spare so we showed them around a little. They had not been to Ilwaco in many years. At one point we can across a mini bus/trolley that had been painted by Don Nesbitt so we had to take pictures of both sides of it of course.

The scheduled event for this afternoon was a trip to the Columbia Pacific Maritime Museum in Ilwaco.

We were really surprised at how comprehensive it was.

Fortunately the gentleman in charge of the old train car which they hope to restore some day was there and he agreed to show us around in it.

They had an excellent display that would make any community proud and is a real credit to a community of 750 people.
There was a model train display on the upper level so we had to watch that run for awhile. I had to drag Ken out of there.

 On the main level there was a display of photography taken using infra red which is something I had never seen before. All in all it was a great success.
Thursday was free day but we left them a stipend of 50 dollars. They were pleased with this gesture.

We had dinner on our own and because it was not great weather we did not have the scheduled camp fire and marshmallow roast but the ice cream social went ahead as planned.

Kevin and Joan arrived in time for ice cream. So now the gang is all here.

 We had 8 different flavors and even though everyone had their fill we still had ice left over. Yummy!!

The first of three days had come to a successful end.

Continental breakfast was great. Dick and Carol chose wonderful fruit etc. The Greek yogurt was delicious. Sylvia Bowman brought the muffins and cinnamon rolls again. I thought she was bringing them for one morning. I could not believe she was supplying them for all three day. Boy that lady can cook!!.

This was the morning we were scheduled to take a ride on the Astoria trolley. It is an antique and they do not take it out in the rain. Using Les’s phone we were able to reach them and learn that it was also raining in Astoria so the ride was cancelled. We stayed on the grounds for the morning but many people wandered off on their own. Dennis and Sally left early because they had to go to a graduation. They will be missed.

The scheduled event for the afternoon was a tour of Flavel House in Astoria.

That was an amazing man. His wife was even more amazing in my opinion. She was married at 14 years of age and yet she ran this household successfully. Apparently she was only 4 foot 9 inches tall and that accounts for all of the very low railings and furniture.

George Flavel was a ship captain and a realtor. He built this grand mansion to show his wealth to all. However he only enjoyed the house for 7 years. His wife and daughters lived there and the wife and one of the daughters died there. The house was willed to the town of Astoria. It has been successfully restored to its former glory.

Our guide Sally was great.

We left a payment of $200.00 for our tour. They were pleased with having a small gratuity.

We learned that this was the 67th wedding anniversary of Norma and LaVern Edwards so as soon as we left Flavel House we headed to Safeway to get a cake. Since this is pot luck supper night the cake with left over ice cream would be the perfect finishing touch.

Norma cut the cake and we sang to them. They seemed to be very pleased with the surprise.

As usual we had entirely too much food and there was a wonderful assortment of flavors. We certainly do have some great cooks in this group.

After supper we cleaned up and then at 7:30 we played card bingo. We had 90 gold dollars and 10 paper dollars to give away.

It was a lot of fun especially for the first timers.

The first timers were Randy and Janeen Battan, Kevin and Joan Curtis and Marg and Dave Ruben. All three couples are good friends of ours and they accepted our invitation to come to the rally. The Battens and the Rubens had rigs but the Curtis family is currently shopping for a new rig. However they did not let that stop them. They rented one of the cabins.

It was so great to welcome these friends to our "Christmas in June" celebration.

Saturday dawned a bit gray but it was not raining.

Breakfast in the club house was great as usual, after breakfast we set up the tables for this evenings session.

Because the Cranberry Museum, our morning destination, was so close that we did not have to car pool until 10:30. When we arrived we were greeted by a great guide.

We were given and amazing and informative tour of the research station and museum. These cranberry growers are part of the Ocean Spray coop. She explained exactly how this worked

It seems as if for the most part the growers are pleased with this arrangement.

She explained how harvest was conducted and by the looks of the crop on the vines they will be very busy at harvest time.

Next she took us inside to tour the museum. It was very comprehensive with displays of harvesting equipment and posters and some literature. Again our guide was very informative.

They have quite a nice gift shop with a good variety of items available for purchase . I had to get some salt water toffee and I also got some essential oils. Others in the group shopped as well.

This museum has no admission but we did give them a stipend of fifty dollars.

After this tour we went to the Cove restaurant and paid the caterer and checked things out.

Back to the park for lunch.

The tour this afternoon was to the kite museum in Long Beach. We kept out fingers crossed that the weather would cooperate and it did. Gray but no rain and a bit of a breeze was perfect.

The variety of kites on display was amazing.

While here we watched videos of the history of kites, learned that this is the only kite museum in the US, made our own kite and then tested it in the flying field.

Some of us even tried to fly our little kites inside. But outside was much better.

Holli, our guide posted 21 pictures of us on the face book page of the Kite Museum. They are great.
Check it out.

There is a gift shop attached to the museum but be warned the kites are amazing but they are also quite expensive. There were tee shirts promoting the kite festival of 2015 which were marked WAY down. The 2 which I bought have the art work of Don Nesbitt which really pleased me.

This tour costs 4 dollars per senior, we gave them $200.00 to cover fees and tips. It was a grand event and by the smiles on peoples faces they enjoyed this trip back to their childhood.


By now it was time to head back to the park and begin to get ready for our big night. Ken and I dressed in our Christmas best and went to the Cove. The idea was to be there first so we could greet and welcome people to the Christmas in June celebration of the Pacific North West Travelers.

Sondra had the place nicely decorated. Even" the stockings were hung by the chimney with care". I created and brought centerpieces, Leah brought her special trees.

Before long everyone had arrived and was enjoying a pre dinner drink......everyone except Roland that is. So we were certain to applaud and cheer when he did arrive.

Sondra called dinner we drew lots to see who would go first and then Les said Grace.

The meal was thoroughly enjoyed by all and soon it was time to head back to the Park for the rest of our Christmas celebration.

Again Roland was the last to arrive and again we were sure to tease with cheers and applause.

We played the Mrs. Wright game and laughter rang through out as people got mixed up and when the gifts were opened.

We shared stories about our most favored Christmas decorations. With all of us , it was not the most expensive or the most beautiful that was favoured but it was the one which touched our hearts that we held most dear.

Soon it was time for Santa's elves to get to work and return the clubhouse to its pre Christmas state. Many would leave early in the morning.

But Boy oh boy it was a fun rally and it will be remembered.

Until we meet again.

Good bye till October

This wonderful trip has come to an end and I have been busy unpacking and getting things put away. I still had Easter decorations on the mantel but they are now safely stored till next yet.
The laundry is gathered and downstairs perhaps I will get it done tomorrow.
It is a beautiful day and Ken is outside washing the Jeep.
I went for a short walk this morning and we are off to choir practice this evening. We are well on the way to getting back to our routine.
But some final thoughts:
It was an amazing adventure. We liked the Regal Princess but she is just a little too big for us. She holds 4400 passenger and the Emerald princes holds 3600 passengers. That additional 800 crosses the line. She is a beautiful and elegant ship and I am glad that we sailed on her. But I don't expect that we will book a trip on her again. The cruise was during spring break for some schools so there were many children on board. That was a nice change and not a problem. The very special new thing about the Regal was the Princess at Sea program. It provided an on line patter and lots of things for the ship. But the biggest improvement is the speed of the internet. You are able to download pictures in seconds instead of minutes. The other big thing is Movies on Demand. You have so many choices that you could spend the entire cruise in your room watching television and still not see it all. They say that this will eventually be available over the entire fleet.

Our transit of the Panama Canal was exciting as usual. We did it on the Island Princess in 2011 and again this year. I enjoyed the 2011 cruise much more. That cruise was in October and so the weather was much more to my liking. It was just too hot and too humid this time. 90+ degrees with humidity around 95% is almost unbearable. It was almost like being in a steam bath. Also in the fall the entrance to the canal is much more dramatic because you enter just as dawn is breaking. At this time of the year the sun has been up for awhile. I can't say that we were all that pleased with the changes that have been made to the Island Princess. With those new cabins at the front it makes a complete walk around the ship impossible. We really missed the International Café as it has become our favorite place on a Princess ship. The demographic on this cruise was much older. Because it is a long cruise you pretty well have to be retired to take it.

The last 3 days... the repositionable part of the cruise was completely different. Young adults were very prevalent and it was very clear that they were on board to party. It was a lot of fun. They were not rowdy they were just having a good time.

We experienced amazing weather for the entire time. Only one day was a bit rocky and actually nothing to speak of. Both ships rode very well. We felt little or no movement at any time.

This was the first time we tried the special dining rooms. We liked Sabatini's better that the Boyou Café, but both were very good. We would do Sabatini's again but probably would not do the other.
The one thing that was extra special was The Crab Shack. If you enjoy sea food you should give this a try. Ken is the shell fish lover in the family and he was in his glory. The King Crab legs and the mussels and the shrimp kept him smiling and smacking his lips.

We met many wonderful people. For the first time we were table mates with people we knew from other cruises when we were on the Island. It sure is fun to travel with old friends.

The service and the entertainment were exceptional and definitely up to the high standards of Princes Cruises.

They have new collectable shot glasses and we were able to collect 16 of them, 8 are red and 8 are blue. I am happy to report that we got all of them home safely and not in pieces. They also come in yellow and green but we chose red and blue.

Our next cruise is aboard the Star Princess in October. We travelled around South America on her and she is a wonderful ship.
We have also booked a month on the Caribbean Princess in early winter of 2017. We have never sailed on her so that is something to look forward to.
Randy and Janeen and Fred and Mary have booked the first part of this adventure so we will be certain to have a wonderful time. They are so much fun to travel with.

So until next time travel safely and remember

CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY
WE ARE GOING THIS WAY ONLY ONCE!!

Came to an End

We are home safe and sound.
Does it ever feel different to be using my PC instead of the little net book. This screen seems huge after 42 days of using my little netbook.

We slept lightly as we always do when it is the night before disembarkation. We woke several times and saw light houses flashing their signals in the dark night. Then we recognized the scene and knew we were in Vancouver. There were 2 other ships in port. One was a Holland America ship and the other was the Crystal Serenity. We had not seen a Crystal ship before.
We watched from our balcony as all three ships maneuvered into their respective docks.

Then we dressed and went quickly to breakfast. We were seated with a man from New York and three people from Australia. All of the table mates had done a lot of travelling. All had been to Nova Scotia before and all spoke highly of the beauty of Cape Breton. That pleased me.

Next we headed up to our room to vacate so Randell could prepare for the new passengers who would embark in Vancouver. Sad good-byes were said.

The Elite lounge was located in Explorers. This always seems to be such a quiet peaceful placed compared to the hassle taking place in the rest of the ship.

They had coffee and juice and pastries but we did not have any. The diet has begun. I am certain that we both have gained weight during these six weeks even though we have not gotten on a scale. The fit of your clothes tells the tale without a scale.

We were concerned because Ken does not seem to be able to get reception on his cell phone. We said we would call Janet and Bob and let them know how things were progressing.

Things went very smoothly and in fact we exited the ship almost a half hour ahead of schedule.

We found our luggage and cleared customs in mere minutes. As usual there was no problem with customs. They say you can only have 2 bottles of liquor with you . We had 1 of Myers and 1 of Frangelico. We could have had a case of each because no questions were asked about liquor. We never exceed the limit because we are certain that the first time we do they will do a complete search and we will get arrested.

Ken was still unable to use his phone but one of the people at Tourist information allowed him to use their phone. Bob and Janet were already in the city and they were waiting only a few blocks away. One of the guides showed us how we could get an elevator to the street level and we did not have to drag our bags up that steep ramp.

We had no problem meeting them and getting the luggage loaded. The city was very busy with people coming and going. We wished we were going instead of coming.

The trip went smoothly with Janet catching me up on all of the news of friends and the church. Bob caught Ken up on all of the hockey news, which he really appreciated.

We were home and safely in our home before noon.
It all seems like such a dream.
It was a wonderful vacation. I guess we can't really call it a vacation, lets call it a holiday adventure.

Abramson adventures is scheduled to resume in October

May 10

Well this is the last day of this travel adventure.

We went to the dining room for breakfast and it turned out to be a table of Canadians. One couple was from Abbotsford, one from Prince Rupert, one from Coquitlam and us. By the time we finished visiting they were setting up for lunch.

Then it was back to the room to begin packing. That is always such a big job somehow. It takes less than an hour to unpack but it seems to take half a day to repack. No matter how hard we try we can’t figure that out.

Because we are going to Sabatini’s tonight we decided to not have much lunch. We shared some fruit from our fruit bowl and we finished off the last of our wine that we bought in Fort Lauderdale.

This afternoon was the Grapevine Wine tasting and so we left the room to just roam before that. When the tasting was begun we were lead to a table for two. That is the first time we have not been with several others. They did not have a printed list of the wines because apparently they had changed the selections because many of us had been to the previous Grapevine tasting.

I think Princess had a plan. Ken and I had never been to Sabatini’s and we were impressed. The food was great and the service was unbelievable. We really enjoyed ourselves and I can see us doing it again.

All 5 courses were amazing. They were served family style so you could just have a taste of everything without getting too full.

After that great meal we went to the theatre and we saw a comedian who did unbelievable sounds with just his voice and a mic. He had a range of at least 3 actives and he was really very funny. Jammin Jay Lamonte gave us a lots of laughs.

Next we went to the Wheelhouse Bar where we enjoyed the music of Phoenix Rising. We ordered a Mai Tai from Roberto and boy did he ever make us a good one.

We ended our evening by going to the atrium for the balloon drop party. It is sort of New Years Eve in May. The music was great and hundreds of people were there having a great time. The ages ranged from three to ninety three with everyone having a good time.

What a fabulous way to bring the evening and the cruise to a close.

Vancouver and home tomorrow.

Monday , May 9th

Monday

We went to the dining room for breakfast and it was almost as much fun as dinner always is. We met Bob and Maureen and we had a great visit. The other couple at the table were from Delta and their names were Pauline and Stan.

After that delightful breakfast it was too late for Ken to go to the Photo seminar he had planned to attend. We roamed around and came back to our room. We miss not having something to look for to answer the Wake Show question. They don’t do it for this 3 day segment

This cruise has a different atmosphere, the ages are much lower and it id definitely a party crowd. Lots of fun is being had.

We decided to have our last hot dog lunch so we ordered room service and we had the last of our champagne. That was a first for us. Champagne and Hot Dogs!!

Our reservation at Sabatini’s is for tomorrow night so that means we will not be with Bryan and Caesar tomorrow so we got our tips ready for them. We said good bye and took pictures.

Tonight is labeled as Dress to Impress so Ken wore his blue shirt and tie and I wore my navy outfit. Not quite formal but special. It was Italian night so Ken really enjoyed his scallops.

We bought a Lemonchello and that gave us red glass number eight. We now have a red set and a blue set.

After dinner we went to the On The Boyou again, and it was just as fantastic as the last time.

Then our night came to an end… only one day left.:-(

May 8th

I didn’t sleep at all last night. We had coffee with Baileys last night at dinner instead of dessert. Then after the show we went down and had a coffee which we spiked with brandy before we called it a night.

So I guess 2 coffees before bed is not something I should do again. As you probably read we have a full days of activity planned so I don’t know how I will make out. I may fall asleep n the bus.

As you know I have been really lucky on this vacation. I have been winning things quite regularly. Well last evening I checked in to do one final check of our account and I discovered much to my delight that I won again.

On every cruise that I have taken we have received a booklet called Passport to Value. Basically it is a coupon book. On the back of the book is a place for stamps. When you use a coupon they are supposed to give you a stamp. There is room for 4 stamps I filled out the identifying information and then later dropped the card into an entry box.

I gather my name came out last evening. The prize was $150.00 credit towards your final bill. So we owe 150 dollars less than we expected. That is the first time I have won and I know of no one else who has ever won. They do the draw on that last evening so there would be no opportunity to tell anyone that you had won. I will have to ask Howard and Janeen if they have ever won.

We woke at around six and we watched the ship sail past the Angel’s Gate lighthouse.

 It was still dark enough that the bright green flashing light really stood out. I tried to catch a picture of it with no luck.

At around 8:35 we headed for the princess Theatre to gather for our tour. We were a bit late leaving but it went well with customs etc.

Soon we were on our way. I already posted the description of the tour and it was everything it was supposed to be. We saw so many of the landmarks of LA that our heads were spinning. We got back to the ship around three, so we really got our money’s worth.

Farmers Market

Gromans

Hollywood Sign

Disney Music Center

Olveta

When we arrived in our room Randell was here right away to bring us our glass of sail away champagne.

We then proceeded to open our various promotions. There was a while envelope and in it was an announcement that we were one of the most travelled passengers for this cruise. I was ecstatic; I have wanted that honor but have never reached it. Usually it means a special luncheon with the 40 most travelled. The captain attends and it is very special and included wine and all of the trimmings. Because this is just a short 3 day cruise there is no luncheon with the captain but we have been given the right to have a meal at one of the special restaurants at no charge. We were not all that impressed with the Boyou Café so we will go to Sabatini’s either tomorrow or Tuesday. Ken does not want to miss Italian night at our usual dining room. We will make a reservation that doesn’t conflict with that.

We enjoyed not having to go to the Muster drill and we just relaxed and enjoyed our wine while watching sail away

We went to dinner and the difference without Fred is very noticeable. Even Caesar said that he missed him. The atmosphere is very different. Caesar and Byron have 21 people to serve at the 3 tables. One table seems to be very demanding and very noisy. The guys are probably happy that this a 3 day cruise.

The show in the Princess Theater tonight starred a comedian named Steve Caouette. He was very good. He uses the audience and works off of them. I laughed so hard at one point that I was worried I might get sick.

We are ready to call it a night. I am exhausted and I made certain not to drink coffee tonight.