Back To Real Life

My appointment for my knee yesterday was very interesting. I got an injection in each knee with glucosamine and had the cartilage in my left knee bone tapped to promote self-healing. I'm going to get some physical therapy to learn how to appropriately exercises the muscles around my knees. There are some exercises that are good for me and some that I am to stay away from. I have a follow up appointment in the beginning of August.

This morning John and I went for an awesome walk on the beach with Da Boys. There was a minus 2' tide and there is nothing quite like watching Teddy and Otis chase after shorebirds and found water bottles. We took our time and when we got back to the house we had a nice cup of Joe in the hot tub.

On today's agenda is draining the pond and cleaning out the slimy algae from the bottom and sides. When we were in Medford yesterday we picked up a pond-cleaning vacuum that worked pretty well once we figured out the right method. It took the better part of four hours but it was well worth it. The pond is sparkling clean and you can see the colors of the rocks again. One task done, a million to go!

The painter is coming over this evening to make final arrangement for painting our house next week. We've picked out a color that is just slightly darker that what is on there now. This place is going to look so spiffy when everything is done! Tonight John and I are going to vedg and maybe watch some TV.

Home Again

So... our original plan was to hang around Seattle for a couple of day before heading south to Medford. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and we thought we'd extend out trip and get that done before going home. As it turned out we decided to surprise Chelsey and go all the way home on Sunday. We left our hotel at 6:00 AM and got home around 4:30 PM. Not bad when you consider that we made several stops along the way.

As we entered our neighborhood, I called Chesley to just touch base with her and found out she was watching TV. Perfect. That meant that she would not see us drive up. We parked the car out of view and walked quietly to the front door and then rang the doorbell, all while I was still on the phone with Chelsey. It was funny to hear her make comments about someone being at the door and her trying to quiet Da Boys down. Yes, she was surprised when she finally discovered us crouched in front of the door.

Chelsey was fine. Da Boys were fine. Everything was fine. After visiting for a while, we unpacked all our stuff and grabbed a bite at Torreros...John's pick as it was Father's Day. We were delighted to be back in our own bedroom, however we had to make our own bed first AND again, there was NO towel art. I'm going to have to talk to the management here.

Day #8 Seattle

Were arrived back in Seattle today. Before leaving the ship we had breakfast at the King's table one more time. Disembarking was a piece of cake but getting out of the pier area was another story. We piled all our suitcases on the curb were I again waited while John went to retrieve our vehicle. It did not take him long to come back for me but when he got out of the car he noticed that my car had a flat. Boy was that a mess. The traffic was very congested as many passengers were being picked up, and cars are not to stop for more that a minute or two to load & pickup. In all this business we had to change the tire while other cars waited or tried to make their way around us.

John can be very sensitive about me offering any assistance when it comes to traditional MAN things. Since there were so many people observing us I decided to not even go there so as to not create a scene if John were to have an "I can do it" attitude. I was tempted several times, believe me. I just took care of loading the suit cases by puzzling them around to make them fit. Here is the kicker... an oriental lady not much younger than myself who notice that John was having trouble unscrewing the nuts by himself, went over to help him. Being the gentleman that he is, he let her help him instead of telling her off. I was grateful for his accepting her help and yet at the same time bothered that he would not have let me be the one to help without making a fuss about it. Yes I know, this is all speculation as the other lady stepped in just before I was about to do the same. But, I know my husband and I was trying to do the loving thing by giving him time attempt it by himself.

Our first stop in Seattle was Les Schwab. There was a large screw stuck in the tired that had entered at an angle creating a large hole. The tire could not be fixed but had to be replaced. Even though I purchased the tires but a few months ago, we had already put enough miles on it to not get a free replacement. We ended up having to pay about 1/3 of the cost of the new tire.

Our next stop was our hotel. We unloaded our needed luggage and checked in. We then had the car parked and hit the town. There was a great parade in Fremont along with a street fair that went on and on. The whole town was packed. We could barely move. In the parade were the usual floats and bands along with the BIG CITY folks that have a need to expose their painted nude bodies. Eventually we left taking the bus to downtown Seattle where we walked around Pike Market. The crowds there were not much better so after a while we just went back to our room for a little rest. At 5:00 PM there was some wine tasting in the lobby that we went to followed by an Asian dinner. And then...to bed.

No towel art tonight! :(

Day 7 Victoria BC

Last day on the high seas! This morning was probably the first day that we actually just lounged around for a while. I didn’t get up until 7:30 AM and went to breakfast at 8:00 AM where I had a double helping of Krente Bolletjes. Yum. The rest of the day was spent attending a few workshops such as towel art as well as vegetable and fruit carving. We also had to pack before going into Victoria at 6:00 PM. There was one last show in the middle afternoon that we attended and then we went to the early dinner for a change so that we could hit the gangplank as soon as we got the clearing to go on land.

Victoria is such a beautiful city. The most unfortunate thing about this port stop was its timing. Many shops and tours had already closed down for the day, and one of the only excursions was cancelled due to rough waters. We had to be back on board no later than 11:00 PM. As it turned out John and I were back in our staterooms by 9:30 PM.

The towel art tonight was a squid.

Day #6 Ketchikan

Another typical Alaskan weather day…overcast with a chance of showers. We got up early again in order to make the most of our day on shore. We grabbed some breakfast on the Lido deck rather than the Kings table because the latter did not open until eight o’clock. Today’s port was Ketchikan and we were only there from 7:00 AM until 12:30 PM. Anyone not on board by 12:30PM would be left behind. Apparently this happened to a lady on last week’s trip, so her husband had to finish the cruise by himself while the wife flew back home.

Ketchikan is a much larger city than Sitka and it has lots more shops which were a good thing since we did not have any excursions planned. We visited several very nice art galleries and of course many of the tourist shops as well. Since there is a lot that we did not get to see, we have already decided that we would very much like to go back there some day. One of our guides in Sitka suggested that we take a ferry boat up the Alaskan coast next time and book a berth on it. We could bring a car and travel on our own where roads are available. In all honesty, I think that type of trip would appeal to me more than another cruise. Don’t get me wrong, we are having a vey nice time. It’s just that I feel a little like cattle that is moved from one place to the next, and life on the ship is somewhat confining for my taste, although some of the events are wonderful.

After we returned to the ship we had some lunch and then retired to our stateroom for a well deserved nap. At four o’clock we were supposed to attend an Indonesian Tea Party but…we overslept. At seven o’clock we did make it to The Texas Tenors show. Tonight’s dinner was the last hurrah since tomorrow night most people will probably be enjoying a few hours in Victoria, our last stop, during the regularly scheduled dinner time.

I am sooo constipated! In the last five days I’ve only had two 32 oz bottles of water. That is how much I usually drink in one day! I know. Too much information right? Throughout the day our cabin steward freshens up our room by emptying trash cans, replacing towels, folding down or making the bed, and leaving chocolates on pillows. He also always folds the end of the toilet paper into a little triangle. Where am I going with this? Read on. Just before the show last night the entertainment director of the cruise told this joke: a perfectionist passenger enjoyed the look of his cabin so much when it was all tidied up that he did his best to keep it looking that way. He was particularly intrigued by the folded triangle at the end of the toilet paper so he did his best to duplicate it after each visit to the bathroom. The cabin steward noticed that the toilet paper had gone unused the first day since the little triangle at the end was still in place. The second day the steward became somewhat concerned that his guest had not used the facilities and wondered if he was all right. By the third day when the toilet paper had still not been used the steward became very concerned about his guest’s health so instead of leaving a chocolate on his pillow that night he left him three prunes. LOL. I hope you got a chuckle out of that one.

Tonight’s towel art was a bulldog.

Day #5 Sitka

We arrived in Sitka this morning. What a beautiful entry to the bay area. It is littered with little islands. Our ship had to be escorted through the passage as there was a low tide when we arrived. The tides here will fluctuate 20+ feet each day. Wow. The ship dropped anchor quite a distance from the little harbor and so we had to be tendered in to shore. We were among the first to go ashore as we had another excursion planned.

Today’s adventure was combo volcano exploration by ocean raft and four-by-four. Only six passengers fit onto our raft. No wonder, you should see what they made us wear. I felt like a marshmallow in a space suit. But boy were we glad we had on that protective clothing when we hit the water. Crossing the bay at 50 mph straddling torpedo-like seats that had a “shit” bar for rough waters, was quite an experience. We saw lots of sea otter and a lone humpback as we across the bay. When we arrive on the designated volcanic island we were awaited by Rhino four-by-fours. As our guide said, they drive like golf card but on steroids. We took turns driving the carts on the guided 90 minute trip on which we got some spectacular views of Sitka and its surroundings; we then crossed the bay again in our speedy raft so that we could shop in Sitka the remainder of our stay on land. As it turns out Sitka is pretty small and the shopping was limited. We did purchase one artifact that John has been wanting for some time: a carving called First Breath. It is a mother with her calf that she is lifting to the surface right after it’s birth. What makes this carving extra special is that it is carved out of whale bone that is at least 300 years old.

I’ve been exhausted from lack of sleep and was grateful when I was able to take a nap when we got back on board before getting ready for our second formal dinner. The captain had invited us for cocktails but we opted for another pre-dinner show instead. Heck, we can get a drink anywhere but a good show is hard to come by in Our-Neck-Of-The-Woods.

Tonight’s towel art was an elephant. I’ve got to get the book with the instructions for this art form.

Day #4 Hubbard Glacier

Even thought I am soooo tired, I can’t seem to sleep on this tub! We tend to go to bed after the 10:30 PM sunset or later, and I am up and about by 4:00 AM. It is hard to function energetically on just a few hours. Nolan I don’t know how you do it. I’ve gotten in the habit of writing my entry for the pervious day sitting on our veranda while John sleeps a few more hours. This morning I had to wake him up because I had a surprise waiting for him. At eight o’clock he was scheduled for a 75 min. hot-rock massage. When it comes to these kinds of things, John is such a man’s man. He thinks this is much too fluffy for him. I had to make him promise he would follow my plans for the morning before I told him what they were. I took a chance to make this appointment as we would be charged for 50% of the service if you cancelled with less than 24 hours. Of course I could have gone in his stead if he had been a poor sport but he went and as it turned out he LOVED it! Hurray. He came back looking like putty and he had fallen for the trap I’ve been able to avoid: purchasing some of the products they use on you.

For the most part today was an uneventful day at sea. We had breakfast with the commoners as the King’s table was only open during the time John was getting stoned. I like that play on words. We sailed up to Hubbard Glacier where we were confronted with rainy weather once again, but worst of all, there was a thick layer fog that blocked the view of the glacier for most of the time. We only glimpsed it briefly when we were still quite far away. Darn that fog. We did see lots of icebergs floating all around the ship many with seals and otters on them.

So what did we do most of the day? You’ve got it; we ate and drank the day away until dinner which was preceded by the Amsterdam Singers who put on a Vegas Night. We should have gone to bed after that but tonight the ship was putting on a special Dutch dinner between 11:30PM and midnight. We had to go to that just to see what goodies would be served. You know what though? We were still soooo full from our 8:30-10:00PM dinner that we could not enjoy anything else. We should have been smarter and gone to bed.

Tonight’s towel art waiting for us when we got back to our stateroom was a monkey hanging from the ceiling. Amazing! Yep, I took pictures of it but unfortunately posting pictures takes terribly long from the ship.

Day #3 Mendenhall Glacier

This morning we did not make it to the gym. We gained an hour overnight and we were thrown off enough to either get there before it opened or too late- after breakfast which was at The King’s table, an exclusive setting for the Deluxe Veranda guest. We dressed warmly and in layers today as the forecast was for rain and more rain.

Our first tour was to the Mendenhall Glacier by way of a helicopter ride. John and I were given assigned seats in the front with the pilot. We had a super view out all the windows including the one by our feet. The ice is so dense that it looks bright blue in all the cracks. It is a shame that these glaciers are receding so quickly. When we got to the dog camp we found over 300 dogs neatly arranged, each with his own little dog house, in rows by their owners. Most owners have around 30+ dogs they train and then pick the best ones for the races as they come up. We were fortunate enough to get a team and sled all to ourselves, along with a musher of course. After getting to know the team we went for about an hour ride on the glacier stopping every now and then to switch places. One of us sat in the sled while the other stood in the back. It was awesome. When we returned to the heliport back in civilization we found out that all other tours had been cancelled for the day as the weather had gotten too rainy/foggy. We snuck our trip in under the wire. Apparently last year 52% of the trips were cancelled.

We scurried back on board our ship for a quick, very late lunch, which we should not have bothered with, before heading out for the evening whale watching tour. The tour boat was verily new and loaded with all sorts of goodies for us to snack on. We were fortunate to see two different kinds of whales. We followed a pod of about six killer whales around for a while and then the skipper found us some humpback whales. Boy those mammals are big. As they make their terminal dive we got to see some wonderful flukes. The most exciting part was the show that we were given the last twenty minutes before heading back to shore. We discovered a mother and her six-month old calf swimming around. Just seeing them surface every now and then was great but the calf must have know we wanted more of a showing because he started breaching over and over again! Unfortunately I forgot our camera in our stateroom. Fortunately there were some amateur photographers on our tour that have said they’d be glad to send us some of their pics.

The Amsterdam was patiently waiting for our group to return at 8:30 PM so that we could set sail for tomorrow’s sighting of Hubbard Glacier. It is interesting how each time you board the ship it is pretty much mandated that you sanitize your hands. Porters are standing on each side of the gang plank with their oversized bottles of Purell ready to plop a doze on each passenger’s hands before letting you precede further. After putting away our binoculars we walked around the ship for just a little while before heading to bed. Tonight’s towel art display on our bed was a stingray.

Day #2 A Full Day at Sea

I didn’t sleep well last night. I had closed the door to the balcony and the room just got too stuffy. In addition, there is a constant vibration from the ships stabilizers that makes things rattle. ARG! Maybe I’ll be tired enough tonight to sleep through whateva!

John and I hit the gym as planned and worked out for about 45 min. So, that may have burned off half of one of the desserts we ate last night. As soon as we were done at the gym we helped ourselves to a little fresh fruit before I headed back to the spa center for a facial. That was very nice and NO, I did not buy all the products they tried to sell me. I saw my porpoises following the ship while in the spa center. At noon we had lunch at The Crow’s Nest which was the by captain’s by invitation only. Soooo much food, sooooo little room to put it anywhere. We can tell that this cruise line is the HOLLAND/American line as many of the food items are very traditionally Dutch.

After lunch we attended a napkin origami instruction workshop and a wine sampling. The next item on MY agenda was to get some rest so that I could hopefully enjoy tonight’s formal affair. At four o’clock I had an appointment to get my hair done in an up-do. Yes folks, there is a first for everything! I opted to wear my GOLD blouse with my black skirt tonight just because it is more tailored than the other. I figured that I may need to wear my skirt unbuttoned by the next formal and the other blouse will hopefully hide that. Hah! The captain had complementary flowers delivered to wear for the formal. Yep! We opted not to wear them however as the colors just were not quite right.

Wow! My opinion after getting dressed is that both John and I looked like a million bucks and apparently so did other people! It was really interesting how complete strangers came up to us to comment how “beautiful” and how “elegant” we looked. John purchased a tie to match my blouse so we were both decked out in gold and black. We made sure to have our picture taken and scheduled a sitting for more pictures on Wednesday, no obligation to buy of course.

Our original plans were to have dinner with the couple in the next cabin but after accidentally meeting up with them for lunch at The Crow’s Nest, we decided to wiggle our way out of that one. They are very nice but the lady CAN. NOT. SHUT. UP!!! We did not want to have the whole evening monopolized with her diarrhea-of-the-mouth. John called our personal concierge who pulled some strings to change our dinner reservation last minute to a different time. It is amazing how much pull your room number has on this cruise. Before dinner we went to the Broadway musical show and after dinner we just walked about a bit before returning to our Deluxe Veranda Suit. Our beds were turned down again, chocolates were on our pillows, and a butterfly made out of towels was displayed on our bed. Very cute.

We are both looking forward to getting off this tub tomorrow to see some of Alaska!

Voyage Day #1 Seattle

We arrived at the docking station in plenty of time. John dropped me off with our luggage while he parked the car in the long-term section. The check in when smooth and I was glad to pull out my US passport for the first time. All non-US or non-Canadian passengers had to check in at a different location. It was nice to not have to jump through the different hoops this time.

Our staterooms were not ready yet as the ship had just unloaded it’s passenger from the previous trip a few hours earlier, so as we boarded the ship and had our pictures taken, we were directed to the bow were a large array of different cuisine lunch buffet bars was awaiting us. WOW! Maybe I should have bought the larger formal skirt after all. We also took the opportunity to walk around just a bit to get to know our surroundings.

It wasn’t until we looked for our rooms that we realized that we had been upgraded, for the second time, to a Deluxe Veranda Suit! OMG!!! It is twice the size of the last one we were upgraded to. Beautiful!!! There was a bowl of fresh fruit awaiting us along with a bottle of champagne and fresh flowers. The only downsize of this room change is that we had put a different room number on our luggage hence we had to wait for a few hours before it finally arrive…small price to pay.

After enjoying the room for just a little bit, I quickly found the Spa section of the ship and made a hair appointment for the next day, the first formal dinner. I could not leave without making a Seaweed massage, which I had done just an hour later, and a facial as well to be enjoyed the next day. I figured I may as well do what I can to live up to the “deluxe” accommodations we are enjoying. Heck, I’m worth it!

John made reservations for dinner through the concierge that is in a special lounge just for the folks on our floor. We could not leave the lounge without stuffing our little stomachs with all sorts of delectable set out, again just for us. I’m living the life of the Rich & Famous only I’m neither. We dressed for dinner and had a beautiful seat overlooking the water. What a way to celebrate our 30th. That is nothing to wink at until we found out that the lovely couple sitting next to us is celebrating their 50th! Our concierge had apparently alerted the dinning crew of our celebration as the serenaded us with a lovely dessert light with a candle.

Before returning to our room for the night we decided to stop in on one of the many life music shows on board. Very nice. Now that we are truly tired, we retired to our suit and found the sheets had been turned down and chocolates had been placed on each pillow. Slippers and bathrobes were also laid out for us. Sweet dreams every one.

No More Exchanges!

We left for Seattle this morning to catch the boat to Alaska tomorrow afternoon. We made it as far as Portland today. There were a few last minute things we still needed to get, the most important of which was to pick up the FINAL size of the formal skirt I purchase a few weeks ago. John thinks I am nuts. He can’t believe that I’ve actually owned the same skirt in three different sizes in a one month span. I reminded him I would have bought the one I needed the first time had the store had my size. Long story. Anyway, I’m all settled.

I miss my Boys already!!!

Getting it ALL done

So much to do. So little time… before we take off. Today I got home a little early and made good use of being at home undisturbed. I cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeders, spayed the delicacies in our yard for the deer with Liquid Fence -a mixture of all kinds of wildlife urine (now you know why my flowers smell so nice- yeah right!), watered our indoor plants and our neighbors outdoor potted plants, cleaned out the fridge, groomed Da Boys, picked up some staples at Fred Meyer (bread and water) so that Chelsey will at least have SOMETHING to eat when she gets here, and I cleaned the inside of my car. Now, was that being productive or what!

So what’s for dinner? I’m having John pick up some Hot and Sour soup at the Rice Bowl. Yummy.

HO-HUM!

Does anyone ever go through a dry spell when you don’t have much you want to write about? That has been me this past week. Chelsey has been up to OHSU and back again. The docs don’t really know what to make of the situation so they did the only thing they know how to do, prescribe MORE meds! Now she has to wait and see, but for what I don’t know. As a result, Chelsey has been pretty sick this weekend. Hopefully she will start to feel better soon.

I didn’t get to keep my appointment with the knee specialist on Wednesday because John had to take Chelsey to her appointment. I rescheduled for later this month. Darn, I want to find out what the deal is with my knees! I am tired of being limited in my actions.

We did go to Medford yesterday to buy a few things for our upcoming trip. I got a great deal on some pants at Eddie Bauer for $19.95. WOW! I like to think that this store was created for just me. I can walk in and always find something that fits well. I also got a pair of BORN shoes at the Macy’s. They are so cute and comfy. The other thing I did was exchange the formal skirt I bought a few weeks ago for the only other one they had that is two sizes bigger because I did not lose those 5 lbs I had intended, instead I found some more. Puff! I bought the size in between the two as well but the only store that has it is in Portland so the skirt is waiting for me to try on as we go by there on our way to Seattle on Friday. I am hoping that this medium size will be the perfect fit. If not, at least I have one that I can fit into!

Today I spent a lot of time on the phone with Chelsey. In between I did some weeding and spent-flower picking. We’ve got to keep those flowers blooming so that they will look really good by August 1st. And yes, I think John is getting impatient with those petunias on the stump planter as well because HE put more Miracle Grow on them today.

Four days of school and counting.