Wanna Get Away?

I’m being lazy this week. Well, not lazy so much as strapped for time. It’s been a busy week and in my “spare” time I’ve been relaxing because I’m exhausted by the time I have “spare” time. And, by relaxing, I mean, I clean out the dishwasher, fold the laundry, set the table for breakfast, and make dinner for my family. Those are my “relaxing” chores. I don’t actually have time to fully relax by definition of the word.

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Disney World Again?

Photo by P. Rickrode

I often hear, “You’re going to Disney World again? Didn’t you just go last year (or in June, or January, etc.)?” My response is always the same, “Yes, we did and yes we’re going again.” You want to know why? I’ll tell you. It’s fun!! I love Disney World. We always know we’re going to have an excellent experience, good food, clean rooms, quiet pools (we know the ones to visit), free transportation and much more. It’s money well spent (in our opinion).

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An Adventure of Firsts

Have you ever set out to cross something off your bucket list? Well, I do and recently, I did. I finally took a Disney cruise. Not my first cruise, my first DISNEY cruise!! Needless to say, I was very excited.

The entire journey turned out to be one “first” after another, starting with Thanksgiving day in New Orleans.

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Between Two Bridges

San Francisco is not known for it’s sunny days or bikini-riddled beaches. In fact, most days, it’s socked in with fog and you’re lucky if you get a tiny glimpse of the famous Golden Gate Bridge. But, the locals are blessed with a few really warm days every year around the autumnal equinox.

Such was our experience on day one of our 11-day voyage to Alaska. We arrived at the bustling pier with suitcases bursting at the seams and anticipation oozing from our pores.

Once onboard the Star Princess we made our way to the upper decks and breathed in the sea air. We had an amazing view of Alcatraz.

Alcatraz Island. Photo by P. Rickrode 2014.

The Golden Gate Bridge to the west – our destination

Golden Gate Bridge. Photo by P. Rickrode 2014.

and the new Bay Bridge and Treasure Island from whence we had just come to the east.

Bay Bridge. Photo by P. Rickrode 2014.

Before long, the band struck up a lively sail away tune, eager cruisers boggied on the Lido deck as bartenders hustled to concoct icy perfection in silver shakers. And then, the captain blew that awesome horn. BON VOYAGE!

I sipped on a Desperado, an amazing mixture of Dos Equis and Don Julio, whilst we inched away from the pier, waving at the tourists arriving back from a day of exploration on Alcatraz Island. We glided past sailors basking in the warm sunshine on the bows of their sleek white boats and and shiny playful seals barking from the wooden planks of the marina.

Pier 35 at the wharf in San Francisco. Photo by P. Rickrode 2014.

As the city slid past us on the port side, we inched ever closer to the orange monolithic columns of the most famous bridge in California, dwarfing the whale watching vessels coming back to port.

Golden Gate Bridge. Photo by P. Rickrode 2014.

We chugged under the massive steel structure and into the looming fog bank on the other side.

The under belly of the Golden Gate Bridge. Photo by P. Rickrode 2014.

The last dregs of sunlight gleamed off the magnificent towers and swooping spans of the bridge as we steadily made our way toward the open sea.

P. Rickrode and the Golden Gate Bridge. Photo by C. Rickrode 2014.

We were off. Day one!

Stay tuned for port one in Alaska.  Totem poles and all you can eat crab at Ketchikan!!

Have you ever been to San Francisco? Have you ever sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge? What impressive venture have your embarked upon lately. I love it when you share your experiences.

Word of the Day: Gas maser

Fun fact about me: I have never seen a walrus (except in pictures).

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, October 2014. Original photos by P. Rickrode.

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Heading North by Cruise Ship

So by now you’re all sick of me talking about Texas so we’re going to give that little outing a rest. It’s time to start focusing on my upcoming cruise. That’s right, in September I’ll be sailing on the deep blue sea, headed north to Alaska.

Carnival Liberty docked at Cozemel, Mexico.
Original photo by P. Rickrode

I don’t know about you, but I love cruising. Only on a cruise can you be in a different port every morning, miles away from where you were yesterday and not have to pack your things and move to a new hotel. On a cruise, your hotel goes with you. Stellar!

Now, I’ve been on several cruises, to several glorious destinations: Eastern Caribbean, Western Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, but this will be my first journey to Alaska. And the bonus? I can check another thing off my bucket list. You see, it’s a goal of mine to visit every state in our great nation before I meet my maker. So far, with the exception of Alaska, I’ve been in every state west of the Mississippi River and all but the far north eastern corner on the east side. I’ve been as far up as Virginia but that’s it. Some day I’ll visit that last corner of the US.

But, I digress. I’m gearing up for my journey north and in so doing, I’ve been doing some on line research. I don’t want to miss any of the important stuff when I’m in port. Whilst surfing the web, I came across this silly video about cruising that made me giggle. I wanted to share it with you. It’s short and hopefully will bring a smile.

And so I leave you with this question: Have you ever danced behind someone without their knowledge? Would you ever? I think I just might have to give this a go when I get on the ship in a few weeks. Stay tuned for my report (and with any luck a video).

Word of the Day: Zaffer (zaffre)

Fun fact about me: I have owned 9 cars in my life; all but the very first one were brand new when I bought them.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, August 2014. Original photos by P. Rickrode. Video courtesy You Tube.

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Sometimes Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks

I’ve been playing around with some of the features on my laptop in an attempt to learn how to do more cool things. I know I can record videos from my laptop, but I haven’t figured out how to do that yet. Late last year I learned about the “paint” feature on my computer and how I can alter photos. I’m still not very good at it, but I’m learning.

This is NOT me, but I’m sure I had the same expression on my face. Photo courtesy Google Images.

A couple of weeks ago I started playing around with my Power Point program and created my very first slide show. It’s very amateurish and kind of boring, but I enjoyed learning how all of the cool features work with this program. My experiment is uploaded below. Just click on the link and wait a few seconds for it to up load on your computer, then enjoy. I’m hoping to post more of these things in future and hopefully they’ll be a little more interesting. I may even figure out how to add mucic and stuff. For right now, this is my accomplishment. (Please note that the following download may not be compatible with all operating systems. Sorry.)

springtime-slide-show

Enjoy! And as always, thanks for your support.

P.S. I’m not sure what the cinnamon roll has to do with spring, but there you go.

What’s the last new thing you attempted to learn? Are you a computer geek, who loves this kind of technology?

Word of the Day:  Enceinte

Fun fact about me: My driver’s license photo is almost 12 years old. They just keep sending me new ones.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, March 2014. Original slide show produced and photographed by Patricia Rickrode.

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