There has got to be hundreds of little details involved in leaving home for 18 weeks. Over the years, we have learned to keep a list of stuff to do, therefore, not forgetting anything, we hope. Over a month ago, we had to pay the big bills ahead of time. That included property, federal, and state income taxes. Since we have booked another South African safari on this upcoming trip, we needed to pay off that balance. At least we allowed enough time to know our checks cleared and the credit card was charged and paid.
The rest of the list included most everything to do with the house and garden. Pruning trees, roses, and grape vines has been a high priority. This is one area that we are worried about........the lack of rainfall. In fact, the hillsides look bleak and brown, much like we are living in a high desert area. If we don't get the storms breaking through soon, we may be in trouble next summer or sooner with water use. Too bad we can't teach our birds to do a rain dance in our absence.
Speaking of birds, our newly added rooster, Mr. Foghorn, has made himself right at home. Today, we heard him crowing more than normal. So we snuck back there and found him getting "very friendly" with one of his new girlfriends. With five hens to keep company, we expect him to be doing a whole lot of happy crowing.
For a change, we have almost completed our chores for this trip ahead of time, and have one full day tomorrow to find things we forgot. The last thing we need to do, is leave the house on Wednesday, and ask each other, did you lock the front door, turn lights off, or check for water running? We'll probably ask anyway. Old habits are hard to die. One thing we cannot leave at home? The passports, or we go nowhere.
We hope to be emailing from the hotel in Ft.Lauderdale, so look for reports after the 1st. And by the way, Happy New Year to all of you!
Monday, December 30, 2013
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Report # 2 The final days of prep.........December 26th, 2013 Thursday
With the holiday of Christmas spent with family a past memory, we continue to wrap up the final chores. We had a truly special day with the recent addition of a new family member, Kenneth William.....all 9 pounds and 7 ounces of pure baby boy. Son Ken and Monica welcomed him into their growing family on December 11th, much to our whole family's delight. We envy his ability to sleep through the merriment and excitement of fine dining and opening presents. Next year will be a different story, with little Kenny probably getting into everything he can reach and touch. We'd be disappointed if he did not try!
As we reluctantly began to put away the Christmas decorations today, we discussed the ups and downs of a recently announced upgrade on the ship from our outside category to a veranda room on deck six. The first offer HAL made came around December 1st with an added amount of $7499. per person. Here's the deal. We would get a balcony room anywhere they choose to put us from a BC to an A category. However, none of the veranda perks would apply. The perks we would NOT get would include unlimited luggage shipment, a higher shipboard credit, one complimentary shore excursion of our choice, a one time in-suite liquor set-up of 2 bottles per person, and a bottle of champagne. Well, we already get the champagne and prepaid hotel service charges, so that's a wash.
While we were thinking about that offer, another one from the folks at HAL came through with an upgrade for $6000 per person. Figuring the difference between an outside room to the lowest balcony, the original book price was nearly $20,000. No doubt, that is a big savings. But...........we really like the location of our room. And believe it or not, we have extra closet space in our E category. Over the years, we have narrowed down the best location on the lower deck for coolness, stability, quietness, and access to the gangway. To add to that, deck six has been experiencing some major plumbing and air conditioning problems, which may or may not be fixed during their drydocking in San Francisco a few weeks ago. So we hesitate to give that up, unless, we happen to be upgraded with a complimentary veranda. It does happen, not often, but it did for us once in 2010 while on the Prinsendam. Guess you can say that spoiled us. But, a balcony can be nice...................so we are still comtemplating it.
With our handcarrys starting to bulge, we decided to add another piece of luggage to the two we will be checking at the airport. Better to keep them light, and not worry about overweight charges. Besides, we will need some extra space to bring back some treasures that we will more than likely find along the way. And we will need some room for the HAL gifts, although fewer than given in past years, are promised to be of better quality.
We're happy to report that Mr. Foghorn is doing well, and is probably happy we chose to dine on prime rib for Christmas dinner, and not chicken!
To be continued..............
As we reluctantly began to put away the Christmas decorations today, we discussed the ups and downs of a recently announced upgrade on the ship from our outside category to a veranda room on deck six. The first offer HAL made came around December 1st with an added amount of $7499. per person. Here's the deal. We would get a balcony room anywhere they choose to put us from a BC to an A category. However, none of the veranda perks would apply. The perks we would NOT get would include unlimited luggage shipment, a higher shipboard credit, one complimentary shore excursion of our choice, a one time in-suite liquor set-up of 2 bottles per person, and a bottle of champagne. Well, we already get the champagne and prepaid hotel service charges, so that's a wash.
While we were thinking about that offer, another one from the folks at HAL came through with an upgrade for $6000 per person. Figuring the difference between an outside room to the lowest balcony, the original book price was nearly $20,000. No doubt, that is a big savings. But...........we really like the location of our room. And believe it or not, we have extra closet space in our E category. Over the years, we have narrowed down the best location on the lower deck for coolness, stability, quietness, and access to the gangway. To add to that, deck six has been experiencing some major plumbing and air conditioning problems, which may or may not be fixed during their drydocking in San Francisco a few weeks ago. So we hesitate to give that up, unless, we happen to be upgraded with a complimentary veranda. It does happen, not often, but it did for us once in 2010 while on the Prinsendam. Guess you can say that spoiled us. But, a balcony can be nice...................so we are still comtemplating it.
With our handcarrys starting to bulge, we decided to add another piece of luggage to the two we will be checking at the airport. Better to keep them light, and not worry about overweight charges. Besides, we will need some extra space to bring back some treasures that we will more than likely find along the way. And we will need some room for the HAL gifts, although fewer than given in past years, are promised to be of better quality.
We're happy to report that Mr. Foghorn is doing well, and is probably happy we chose to dine on prime rib for Christmas dinner, and not chicken!
To be continued..............
Monday, December 23, 2013
Report # 1 Getting ready December 23, 2013 Monday
Greetings to all during this wonderful crazy time of year! Seems like we were just doing this just yesterday, although, a whole year has flown by, as they seem to do these days. So here we are, once again, preparing to head off for adventures of circumnavigating the globe in a few short weeks from now. We once read that taking a world cruise is like Christmas. Every day is like opening a present, discovering something new. As for us, we continue to view this opportunity as a gift that unfolds each and every day.
Where are we going this time? This is a frqeuently asked question from family and friends. You can bet that we will be visiting the expected spots such as Lima, Sydney, Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Cape Town, South Africa. There are a few new areas we have not been to, so we can add those to our list.
We begin with a stop in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, the only Caribbean port on the way to the Panama Canal.
There are only two ports in South America....Manta, Ecuador, and Lima, Peru.This will give some folks a chance to take side trips to the Galapagos Islands and Cuzco and Machu Picchu. Easter Island and a sail around Pitcairn will be the ports on the way to French Polynesia. There we will see Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora.....all favorites of ours.
We skip across the South Pacific Ocean with visits to Pago Pago, American Samoa, Fiji, and two ports in New Caledonia. Then we have only three ports in Australia....Sydney, Brisbane, and Cairns, where many will take the two hour boat ride to the Great Barrier Reef.
Now comes the exotic and remote areas in Papua New Guinea, Yap Island, we hope, (there has been a lot of storm damage there), and two days in Manila. Two exciting cities come next with 2 day visits each in Hong Kong and Singapore. The last Asian port will be Phuket, Thailand.
Then we are off to Sri Lanka, where some cruisers will be able to take an overland adventure to India and the Taj Mahal. By the time we continue sailing to the Seychelles, that group will meet us there.
On the way towards South Africa, we have two island destinations of Mauritius and Reunion. We were there on the 2005 World Cruise, and look forward to seeing them once again. Mauritius is more Hindu, while Reunion is decidedly French.
Durban is the first of three ports in South Africa we will see. Actually, for us, we will exit the ship in Durban for another safari to Kruger National Park. We did this last year, and loved the experience so much, we booked it once again. There will be many overlands for fellow cruisers to this area, as well as to Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe......all in search of the Big Five and myriad of other creatures big and small. We join the ship in Cape Town, before heading to Walvis Bay, Namibia.
Two islands fall in our path as we start heading north. They are St. Helena and Ascension Island, both a pleasure to see. Then we will venture back to the west coast of Africa for three new ports for us. Banjul, Gambia, Dakar, Senegal, and Mindelo, Cape Verde should be interesting to see.
We will have several sea days to rest up for a few stops in the Caribbean on the way back to Florida. Barbados, Dominica, and Saint Maarten will be fun places to maintain the tans.
Once again, we will stay onboard to sail back to California. A nice addition to this cruise was the private island of Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. We were there once many years ago, and remembered it well. A quick visit will be made in Cartegena before transiting the Panama Canal. Then we have stops in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. With two ports in Mexico, Puerto Chiapas and Cabo San Lucas, we will disembark in San Diego, completing our 130 day awesome adventure.
The four duffel bags are gone, picked up by Fed Ex yesterday, December 17th, but not exactly at the time we had requested. They were to arrive between 2:15pm and 8pm, but came knocking on the door at 10am. Of course, we were not there, but they should not have been there either. The problem was quickly resolved when our regular driver, not the Christmas back-up driver, came to gather our bags. As long as these duffels arrive as promised, all the stress will be forgotten. We seem to recall that something strange happens every year with the delivery. Last year, some bags were stuck in Atlanta, according to the tracking numbers, when in fact, they were already in Ft. Lauderdale. Go figure. Now all we have left to pack are two suitcases we will bring on the flight with us. Keeping those under 50 pounds is always a challenge.
Well, here we are, a week later, and we can say that our four pieces of luggage are in Port Everglades, Ft.Lauderdale, Florida. By tracking their progress, we discovered that each one took a separate route. Why? Who knows. One was left sitting at the original facility in Pacheco, California, while the others went on their way to either Texas or Tennessee. Perhaps it is wiser to check this delivery service several days later, when they confirmed they had reached their final destination. We'll feel better when we finally re-unite with our stuff on the ship.
Besides getting ready for the festive holidays, we're deep into wrapping up last minute jobs around the house and garden. The Bay Area has been experiencing a much colder than usual late autumn. For several weeks, our temperatures have plummeted to the low 20's, well below freezing. It was definitely a test for our outdoor garden plumbing. What was doomed to break, did. Almost daily. In a way, that's a good thing, because we were here to fix it. Much better than the time the pipe split under the outdoor sink, and we had water running for who knows how long. Seems that our bill for that period exceeded $700 over our usual billing. Ouch. So everything we could insulate, we did.
Another big job is replenishing the feed supply for our backyard flocks of chickens, doves, ducks, pigeons, parakeets, and peacocks. Since it needs to last for almost five months, we take the time to drive over an hour away from home to a feed store and mill that sells at a much better price. We buy it by the ton. A few years back, one of our neighbors asked us to adopt his rather large hens, since he could no longer take care of them. And since our flock was aging, we said yes. In time, the only original bird we had left was a small banty rooster. He was dwarfed by the larger hens, but found his spot in the pecking order. That is, until this summer, when he finally kicked the bucket. Poor dude must have been near 20 years old......no kidding. So, while at the feed store, we took a look at their birds for sale in the back of the store. There stood a large white feather-footed rooster all by himself. We swear he was silently saying to us......take me home. And we did. Our five hens were shocked, and kept their distance until one of them challenged him. They did a quick dance with their feet, fluttered their wings, and it was over. We fed them, and continued to watch them establish the new pecking order. His name will be Foghorn, although he is not a Leghorn, but a Cochin, the name fits.
Since the nights have continued to be so cold, we went out after dark to see if the girls had let the new guy into the hen house. Yep, he was inside and warm as toast. The next morning, we waited at dawn to hear him crow, but he never came outside until mid morning. We figured that the senior-aged hens probably made it clear that they sleep late at this house, and if he wants to share their house at night, he had better keep his crowing down until a decent hour. Either that, or he dined on too much shavings in the pen, and had a stomach ache. Oh what fun we have.......
All that's left now is to enjoy the upcoming holidays, and trying not to eat too many Christmas cookies. We'll be posting right before we leave on New Years Day. Please enjoy your holidays and have a healthy and happy new year.
To be continued.........
Where are we going this time? This is a frqeuently asked question from family and friends. You can bet that we will be visiting the expected spots such as Lima, Sydney, Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Cape Town, South Africa. There are a few new areas we have not been to, so we can add those to our list.
We begin with a stop in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, the only Caribbean port on the way to the Panama Canal.
There are only two ports in South America....Manta, Ecuador, and Lima, Peru.This will give some folks a chance to take side trips to the Galapagos Islands and Cuzco and Machu Picchu. Easter Island and a sail around Pitcairn will be the ports on the way to French Polynesia. There we will see Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora.....all favorites of ours.
We skip across the South Pacific Ocean with visits to Pago Pago, American Samoa, Fiji, and two ports in New Caledonia. Then we have only three ports in Australia....Sydney, Brisbane, and Cairns, where many will take the two hour boat ride to the Great Barrier Reef.
Now comes the exotic and remote areas in Papua New Guinea, Yap Island, we hope, (there has been a lot of storm damage there), and two days in Manila. Two exciting cities come next with 2 day visits each in Hong Kong and Singapore. The last Asian port will be Phuket, Thailand.
Then we are off to Sri Lanka, where some cruisers will be able to take an overland adventure to India and the Taj Mahal. By the time we continue sailing to the Seychelles, that group will meet us there.
On the way towards South Africa, we have two island destinations of Mauritius and Reunion. We were there on the 2005 World Cruise, and look forward to seeing them once again. Mauritius is more Hindu, while Reunion is decidedly French.
Durban is the first of three ports in South Africa we will see. Actually, for us, we will exit the ship in Durban for another safari to Kruger National Park. We did this last year, and loved the experience so much, we booked it once again. There will be many overlands for fellow cruisers to this area, as well as to Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe......all in search of the Big Five and myriad of other creatures big and small. We join the ship in Cape Town, before heading to Walvis Bay, Namibia.
Two islands fall in our path as we start heading north. They are St. Helena and Ascension Island, both a pleasure to see. Then we will venture back to the west coast of Africa for three new ports for us. Banjul, Gambia, Dakar, Senegal, and Mindelo, Cape Verde should be interesting to see.
We will have several sea days to rest up for a few stops in the Caribbean on the way back to Florida. Barbados, Dominica, and Saint Maarten will be fun places to maintain the tans.
Once again, we will stay onboard to sail back to California. A nice addition to this cruise was the private island of Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. We were there once many years ago, and remembered it well. A quick visit will be made in Cartegena before transiting the Panama Canal. Then we have stops in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. With two ports in Mexico, Puerto Chiapas and Cabo San Lucas, we will disembark in San Diego, completing our 130 day awesome adventure.
The four duffel bags are gone, picked up by Fed Ex yesterday, December 17th, but not exactly at the time we had requested. They were to arrive between 2:15pm and 8pm, but came knocking on the door at 10am. Of course, we were not there, but they should not have been there either. The problem was quickly resolved when our regular driver, not the Christmas back-up driver, came to gather our bags. As long as these duffels arrive as promised, all the stress will be forgotten. We seem to recall that something strange happens every year with the delivery. Last year, some bags were stuck in Atlanta, according to the tracking numbers, when in fact, they were already in Ft. Lauderdale. Go figure. Now all we have left to pack are two suitcases we will bring on the flight with us. Keeping those under 50 pounds is always a challenge.
Well, here we are, a week later, and we can say that our four pieces of luggage are in Port Everglades, Ft.Lauderdale, Florida. By tracking their progress, we discovered that each one took a separate route. Why? Who knows. One was left sitting at the original facility in Pacheco, California, while the others went on their way to either Texas or Tennessee. Perhaps it is wiser to check this delivery service several days later, when they confirmed they had reached their final destination. We'll feel better when we finally re-unite with our stuff on the ship.
Besides getting ready for the festive holidays, we're deep into wrapping up last minute jobs around the house and garden. The Bay Area has been experiencing a much colder than usual late autumn. For several weeks, our temperatures have plummeted to the low 20's, well below freezing. It was definitely a test for our outdoor garden plumbing. What was doomed to break, did. Almost daily. In a way, that's a good thing, because we were here to fix it. Much better than the time the pipe split under the outdoor sink, and we had water running for who knows how long. Seems that our bill for that period exceeded $700 over our usual billing. Ouch. So everything we could insulate, we did.
Another big job is replenishing the feed supply for our backyard flocks of chickens, doves, ducks, pigeons, parakeets, and peacocks. Since it needs to last for almost five months, we take the time to drive over an hour away from home to a feed store and mill that sells at a much better price. We buy it by the ton. A few years back, one of our neighbors asked us to adopt his rather large hens, since he could no longer take care of them. And since our flock was aging, we said yes. In time, the only original bird we had left was a small banty rooster. He was dwarfed by the larger hens, but found his spot in the pecking order. That is, until this summer, when he finally kicked the bucket. Poor dude must have been near 20 years old......no kidding. So, while at the feed store, we took a look at their birds for sale in the back of the store. There stood a large white feather-footed rooster all by himself. We swear he was silently saying to us......take me home. And we did. Our five hens were shocked, and kept their distance until one of them challenged him. They did a quick dance with their feet, fluttered their wings, and it was over. We fed them, and continued to watch them establish the new pecking order. His name will be Foghorn, although he is not a Leghorn, but a Cochin, the name fits.
Since the nights have continued to be so cold, we went out after dark to see if the girls had let the new guy into the hen house. Yep, he was inside and warm as toast. The next morning, we waited at dawn to hear him crow, but he never came outside until mid morning. We figured that the senior-aged hens probably made it clear that they sleep late at this house, and if he wants to share their house at night, he had better keep his crowing down until a decent hour. Either that, or he dined on too much shavings in the pen, and had a stomach ache. Oh what fun we have.......
All that's left now is to enjoy the upcoming holidays, and trying not to eat too many Christmas cookies. We'll be posting right before we leave on New Years Day. Please enjoy your holidays and have a healthy and happy new year.
To be continued.........