UMTravels

Up earlier than I’d like, or maybe it was that last martini or two.

By 10am we were in the car and on the way to drop me in Miami near the airport. Baymont Inn/Suites Doral/Airport West. By 11am I was checked in and hanging out in the room all wired up to the internet and everything.

One of the emails to come in was from Barb – my cruise travel agent from Lexington, Kentucky asking for my thoughts on the cruise and the Epic.

My response:

Here are my thoughts on the Epic…..

Entertainment was the best that I’ve ever seen on a boat — didn’t see the “Legends” show (that’s the celebrity impersonator show), but Second City (adult 11pm shows), Blue Man Group (good show, glad I didn’t pay for it though — sort of one of those, been there, seen it, don’t need to see again), and Cirque Dreams and Dinner — definitely worth the up-charge.

But… the food — it all had the feel that it came out of a Sysco can/bag/box. And a rude surprise — espresso after dinner is now at “market price” (of which none of the servers seemed to know what that price was). From my perspective — normally I would order a double espresso with a $10 Cointreau on the side. Not when they are going to charge me an additional $2.50 for the espresso. One of the most telling comments in the singles area was from a woman who regretting that she was at the end of the first week of a two week combo cruise… seems the menu doesn’t change from week to week. When I ask her about her favorite cruise line… Princess.

That brings us to service — not enough drink waiters in the bars. Geez guys — with the markup on booze you’d think that they’d have staff hovering over every half-full drink.

I wish Dan/Lisa had gotten the larger stateroom as we all spent a bunch of time there. Maybe I should have offered to make up the difference!

Odd things about rooms range from drawer slides already starting to fail (the ship has been in the water less than 6 months!), and they are changing out all the faucets because of all the complaints about the high neck ones throwing water everywhere (except the raised bowl). Don’t know how many rooms affected — at least all the balcony rooms. There are also now those Asian/European master switches by the cabin door that need a keycard in them to get the lights to turn on — two trips to the desk when I locked myself out and I made a folded paper plug to go in the switch.

Let’s see — the Single Studio rooms. The website makes it look like it’s a HUGE atrium… more like the widths of 4 or 5 rooms. NO MINI-BAR/FRIDGE in the room. For those who like to keep mixers from breakfast cold during the day — that’s probably a non-starter for me getting another one of the studios. The website says all the studios are card-key controlled areas… NOT. Well, maybe in a couple of weeks — they were wiring in access pods on the last day. The “living room” is a great place to play cards, and there was a self-service fridge stocked with vegetable/dip and club sandwiches — and there was a FREE espresso machine as well. Bar service in the Living Room is limited to 5-7ish each evening as the “solo traveler” meeting takes place. Didn’t ever go to those, but the last night we happened to be there and they were offering free champagne.

And they totally mangled the Friends of Dorothy daily meetings — for the first five days they scheduled it in bars were live music or trivia contests were going on. There were bunches of people who tried to make it work, but it’s hard to talk over musicians. Other ships have actually had a staff member who shows up and gets things going at the beginning (and then leaves).

I didn’t try the slides — but did talk to adults who did. They really liked them, but the line for the biggest one was always too long (try on port days). Dan and I did bowl — on a sea day, probably not the best for making a decent score, but silly fun none-the-less ($5 charge)

Ship layout poor. The casino was located mid-ship on a deck that you had use to get to the level below where lots of restaurants/etc. were located. The casino is smoke-friendly, which is a nice way of saying a toxic waste zone. One of the two atriums also passed though the middle of the casino, and two of the Asian theme restaurants were adjacent as well…. smoke, and raw seafood. Bad mix.

Disembarkation — stunningly quick — 10 minutes from room to curbside. Maybe it was because we chose mid-ship, maybe it was because we schlepped our non-carryon size bags instead of picking them up pre-customs.

To wrap up: Dan and I had initially planned to do the “cruise deposit” and get a hundred in on-board credit…. that plan went out the window by the second day.

Funny that as I was writing up the review I got an email from NCL with a post-cruise survey.

Lunch at Chick-Fil-A next door, dinner a couple of blocks away at Braseros’s Steakhouse. A nice porterhouse and a glass or two of mistakenly open Reverse Malbec (a DEAL for $8). FYI – the website is all in Spanish as they are from Argentina – huge place – not enough people to fill it though. A stunning wine list – they had a 2007 Ridge Three Valleys Zinfandel for $32 – I almost bought it to bring it home.

Wake up call for 5pm. Ick. But flight at 8:30am and I have to catch the shuttle.

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The heat – the humidity… it’s killing me. Can’t say as I’d ever move to Florida. Of course, we all know how much I love the Pacific NorthWet.

The big diversion today was a trip to Costco – woo hoo. And they sell liquor in a little mini-warehouse next door (still Costco, but different entrance). I picked up a couple of bottles to drag north since I’m checking bags… that will make a liter of Hendricks, a bottle of the Maker’s Mark 46, and a bottle of Jaegermeister (that is definitely not for me). Plus the two engraved empties from the trip – why do I feel that the TSA will be searching my luggage (again).

Life in Florida. Eat. Errands. Lunch, Canasta, Dinner, Canasta. Day after day.

It’s been fun hanging out with Dan and Lisa, but I’m ready to be home for a bit.

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One positive note from this trip. Disembarkation was stunningly quick. From the room, to the sidewalk beyond customs and immigration in under 10 minutes, and most of it was walking.

Now, if they had just had eggs Benedict on the buffet the last day….

I nodded off for most of the ride to Boca… and turned down food for a nap – though the bagels and lox held quite nicely until lunch.

Afternoon of Canasta, followed by meatloaf and pan roasted potatoes for dinner – SOOO nice to have a home cooked meal after a week of Sysco buffet food. Yes, that’s what it felt like.

Picking up my canasta skills again, not that I’m sure I’ll have a use for them anytime soon.

Unfortunately the picture above was supposed to be of the four of us playing canasta – what you get is Dan, his grandfather, my canasta hand and Lisa’s eye. Oh well, Dan looks great.

Two full games today – won one, lost won.

Too tired tonight to even have gin after dinner.

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After drinks at Moderno, a typical boring Epic dinner followed at the Manhattan Club – Richardo did his best (tracking down some horseradish for us), but there is only so much you can do when the food is what it is. I heard one woman say that she is regretting next week as she signed up for the 14-day Eastern and Western Caribbean tour. When asked her favorite line… Carnival, and I peg her 10 years older than I am.

Morning found a couple of hands of canasta in “The Living Room” which is part of the singles area – which hasn’t fully been card key excluded yet, hence, many people coming in for free espressos, etc. The part that has been card-keyed doesn’t seem to be working, hence locking out most of the guests. (note offering dinner for two and a bottle of wine to those affected).

And speaking of post-launch changes – all the cabins on Dan and Lisa’s hallway got new faucets for their sinks – seems the old ones (4 months old) were too high and splashing water everywhere.

But, speaking of Carnival, when we parked in Nassau, it was next to the Disney Wonder and the Carnival, opps, forgot to get the name.

Off the boat at noon, hot and steamy. Dan headed to the casino at Atlantis on Paradise Island, Lisa and I wandered into town for a little shopping for me – postcards is what I ended up with… 4 for a buck. Saw one stand with a couple of license plates but they were pretty battered up, nothing else really caught my eye – new record. A city tour where I only spend one dollar.

We did see some interesting signs along the way:

Let’s see, children’s clothing, souvenir items, and…. French Toast. OK.

And remember – Protect Ya Tings!

Got soaked on the way back to the boat for a late lunch. After reading about hot dogs for the last two days (Hot Dogs, A Global History, by Bruce King) I finally had to have one for lunch.

Lunch, then nap, then waiting for more canasta which never happened – Marcelo’s Segway Tour of the city ran long.

No clues on dinner. We are now down to just the one bottle of wine in our liquor stash – unless you count the two bottles of Gin I picked up from duty free this morning.

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Last night wrap-up.

• 2-for-1 Martinis at Moderno
• Dinner at La Cucina (upcharge $10, Italian), met a nice young retired couple who gave us the rest of their wine – and wanted to give tiramisu as well, but no room for that
• Duty Free shopping – Hendricks Gin for $14.88 a bottle (50% off, so I got two)
• Had reservations for the Legends Concert (impersonators of Rod Stewart, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson) – didn’t make it – it was an 11pm show and we were exhausted after dinner and headed back to our various cabins before 8pm – this sea life is rough

Speaking of rough – it’s a sea day today, and don’t bother knocking cause this boat is a rockin’. It doesn’t bother me much, but Lisa isn’t a happy camper. If you are following the weather, we are following storms up from the Caribbean, though we aren’t in it – still sunny and incredibly hot outside.

I had three goals for today:

• Bowling
• Canasta
• Water Slides

Dan and I went bowling – he got a 35, I got a 34 – you try bowling on a ship that’s rocking. Goal met. No canasta, we needed four and it wasn’t going to work for Lisa (our fourth being Marcelo from Toronto), instead we taught Marcelo how to play 3-handed hearts… which he lost, but not that much behind me, Goal, not quite met but close. I didn’t make it to the water slides, but I did get a review from a couple of other adults I saw on the slides. Green fast and good, Purple OK, Orange (the one with the giant cocktail shaker in the inside): try it once, but the lines are too long. Goal – not met. Holding off until tomorrow when we are in port in Nassau, Bahamas. I figure I’ll spend a couple of hours wondering around town, then head back to the ship and do the water slides while everyone else is on shore. Well, that’s the plan – who knows what will happen.

Cocktails with the boys (Marcelo and his friend Amar) at Moderno, then a bunch of us will head to the Manhattan Club for dinner and get a big table – we seem to be picking up more strays as the days progress, which is a good thing.

7:45 is FOD in the Bliss Lounge, once again – in the middle of family karaoke – please – just let the Friends of Dorothy follow the 2-for-1 martini special, we’ll be happy – that’s what it’s turning into anyway.

If I’m alive, I’ll see if I can:

1. Stay awake and social until 10
2. Try and catch the Legends show with some of the boys – Dan can’t stand the thought of anything Rod Stewart, we both want to see Michael, and Britney, well, it’s Brittany, isn’t she still in rehab?

That’s it for the day. No pictures. Might bring the camera to dinner, but that would show up on tomorrows blog.

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FOD update: moved the time to 5pm – and to a bar with no music – but a trivia contest that started 15 minutes after we arrived. WHAT are these people thinking – tomorrow it’s in the same place, but at 7:45pm and FAMILY KAROKE starts at 8-m. Really, they just need to hold the FOD gathering at the same place that is offering two-for-one martini specials from 5 to 7 – like the bar at Moderna (the Argentine Steak House) were Marcel, Dan and I moved after bailing on the trivia contest racket. The plan is the same for tonight.

So – the birthday dinner last night was at Cirque Dream in the Speigel Tent (I thought Speigel was a mail-order catalog!) We were early enough to get seats around the upper ring, which kept of close enough to the action, but out of getting pulled into the action. We are all a little suspicious about the $20 upcharge, but I have to admit, I’d go back – it was that good. Food was better, and those buff boy acrobats had the Puerto Rican woman next to me (travelling with her mother and hottie son) gasping at the stunning physical beauty – OK, we were both gasping.

Dan and Lisa went back to the room after dinner, I started in that direction, but realized that the Second City show was about to start in 15 minutes and took a detour to watch a completely different (but still adult) show from the previous night.

Another long night – but I decided to not do an early morning of getting off the boat – just can’t handle it.

My morning consisted of sleeping until 9ish when the tray with my continental breakfast arrived. Eat, shower, explore the dock area of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

The view from the ship – there will be more views once I can get a scoller bar up and running, which requires a high-speed connection, and at the moment I’m tethered to my cell phone with an EDGE connection. First stop off the boat – after navigating through all the taxi/tour/junk dealers was to the post office to mail the cards from St. Maarten – gee, just like home, the familiar blue USPS box.

The joys of vacationing in a protectorate. I adopted my usual philosophy of the further you go from the dock, the cheaper the prices are. Under $15 for a shirt for the Astoria boy (pirate themed Hawaiian shirt), a hat pin for me, two postcards. I’m not helping the economy that much. Oh well.

Cruise review so far – both Dan and I were thinking of doing the $250 deposit on a future cruise – but the food and the service has been so mediocre on this cruise that probably ain’t going to happen. That said, the entertainment has been better than I’ve ever seen on a cruise ship. What we need to find is the matrix that rates various cruise lines by food/entertainment/cabin comfort/price.

And against all odds… the scrolling bar of pictures. 24MB of pictures on an EDGE connection… think dial-up speeds.

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I can’t remember the last time I went to a show that started at 11pm… and there is a reason why. You feel like poo if you have to get up early the next morning.

That said – the Second City Comedy Troup’s show was short (45 minutes) but good. Mostly improv work with a little physical comedy thrown in.

The early morning was that we landed in Phillipsburg St. Maarten this morning and Dan and Lisa want to get a jump on the day. The 7am wake-up call didn’t help much, nor apparently did the martinis and other things last night. By 10 we were on the dock and headed to the water taxi to the main part of town.

Your typical tourist town – the further away from the beach you get, the more normal it seems – like the Bubble Tea shop where we stopped first. More wandering around town, pricing tobacco and looking for a bamboo clothing store we saw advertised in the ships newsletter. What I was after, and quickly found was postcards and license plates (three each).

We only stayed in the city for a couple of hours – too damn hot and too full of damn tourists, including us.

We are parked (berthed) next to the Disney ship, the Magic. It’s a tad smaller than ours.

Friends of Dorothy (FOD) has finally moved to a non-music venture (Bliss) for tonight’s 5pm start (also a much better start time for drinking and socializing). Then for my birthday dinner we are catching the Cirque Dreams show – so that’s at 8, and I’m guessing it’s going to be an early night.

Tomorrow: St. Thomas.

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Stopped in to the FOD (Friends of Dorothy) for a few minutes before dinner. I think the boys are still trying to figure out our threesome.

Dinner last night – back to the Tasting Restaurant — same menu as Manhattan – but with salt/pepper grinders… we might be converted. And they (Manhattans) threw a pair of Newfies (Newfoundlanders) at the table next to us out because the 60+ gentleman and his well dressed wife, well, he didn’t have long pants on, but was sterling otherwise.

After dinner Dan went to gamble, Lisa to wander, and me to go to the Blue Club and listen to a set of the Slam Allen Blues Band. Damn, they are good. Odd, considering the things the Epic isn’t getting right on this cruise, with the exception of the medley duo, the entertainment has been quite good.

This is what greeting Dan and Lisa on their return to the room – their steward put Dan’s sunglasses that were lying out – on the towel animal. Sadly, mine was plain.

So, those are my three pictures for day three of the cruise. Plans for tonight are:

• FOD at 6pm (finally they moved it forward, but still in a bar with music
• Dinner
• Second City Comedy Troupe at 11
• Sack time.

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Due to who we (not the usual Royal We, but Dan and myself) can get on the sloooow interent connection here at sea, most posts will end up being half yesterday, half today.

YESTERDAY LATE:

Lovely dinner in the Manhattan Club – which is the regular dining room that you must wear pants (as opposed to shorts) – same menu as the other regular dining room, Manhattan is just a little more upscale.

Some things have changed – you used to be able to get free espresso/cappuccinos’ after dinner – not anymore. Too bad – means they missed out on serving me a $10 shot of Cointreau – not going to pay for that on top of a double espresso. Regular coffee for me tonight – unusual, but at 8pm we have the Friends of Dorothy (LGBTwhatever get together) in the Blues Club. Bad location… loud blues starts after an hour, and for the half hour before, other folks are scouting the best seats, and a bad time – 8pm. In the middle of dinner/shows/etc. Rumor has it that on Monday the time will go back to 5:30 in a different bar (like the previous cruise). Whatever happens, it still means ordering at least one cocktail added to the bill.

Will probably miss tomorrow, but pick it up again on Monday…

Speaking of cocktails, here is the list of what we managed to evade confiscation on:

• 1.5 liter Evan Williams
• .75 liter McClennan Single Malt Scotch
• 3oz. each Vodka, Rum,
• 6 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• 3 minis — scotch/rum/tequila (Dan)
• Flask of Scotch (Dan)
• 2 bottles of red wine
• Plus the 2 bottles of wine that Barbara from Pegasus Travel had delivered to our room.

That will help keep our liquor bill down!

After FOD, it was a quick cocktail back in the room before the 10pm show by the Blue Man Group. Loud, noisy, fun – but it falls into the category of “that was interesting, glad I didn’t pay retail for it, no need to do it again.

Midnight snack and internet session – Dan and I are splitting $100 of slow connection, but doing it through his laptop which shares the signal so that we both (and Lisa if she wants to check mail) – so you could say that we are getting twice our money’s worth, but considering the connection speed… we need it.

To bed late late late in my love pod. See pictures when I get them posted after the trip.

MORNING, SEA DAY TWO:

Continental breakfast delivered to the room at 9:15 this morning (requested 9:30, but oh well). Croissants, fresh fruit, coffee, three juices – mostly for mixing into cocktails later this afternoon, but the tomato juice made a nice bloody mary with the addition of the lemon they provided, and the hot sauce and vodka that I provided – still needs horseradish and celery seed. Life is rough here at sea.

Dan and Lisa went topside for a real breakfast – I think the Continental will do me until it’s lunch time, after all, I did have my midnight snack.

We are at sea today, with nothing really planned for the day/evening as of yet. Maybe we will go back and see the blues band at 9pm – they were actually pretty good (unless you actually wanted to carry on a conversation!). They even were travelling with a Hammond C-2 or 3 (couldn’t tell) like I had at my church out on Lopez.

Stay tuned for more details….

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Breakfast and out of the house by 10 this morning – destination – The Epic, Norwegian Cruise Lines latest chip featuring the Blue Man Group and Comedy from Second City.

So, what this means for the blog is very sporadic postings until October 2^nd when we dock back in Miami and I can post all the posts that will be stacking up on the computer.

This would be my “birthday cruise” for this year.

UPDATE: 2pm

Still not in the rooms yet. but Dan is sharing his 3G Android connection to my laptop and Lisa’s phone. So, while I have the chance, I’ll upload this small camera phone picture…

Taken in front of the three waterslides.

Here is what we’ve booked so far:

• Dinner tonight at the Manhattan Blub
• The 10pm Blue Man Group Show tonight
• Monday night is Second City Comedy troupe
• Birthday night (Tuesday the 28th) is Cirque Dreams ($20 each upcharge)

So far it’s been a busy day — must be time for a nap, expecially after the buffet.

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I felt guilty getting up at 8:30am … turns out Dan had just gotten up, and Lisa was on the couch for a couple of hours, and the grandparents wouldn’t get up until 10am.

Wow, not my parent’s (or my grandparents in the past) house.

Beef Hash from Trader Joes (from Brazil) and an egg scramble for breakfast – thanks Dan.

Next stop was about a dozen stops, sometimes repeated while we got:

• 3 postcards
• Bottle of Macallan
• 2 bottles of diet coke
• Eyeglass repair at Walmart
• Gas
• Cash for gambling on the boat

Sure I left something out.

No time after shopping for the nap – it was lunch, bologna sandwiches on rye (tasty) and chips, and then into the next canasta game – the first where I was forced to play. Never let me study the board/game/cards/etc. before I start to play. I sit and look at the strategy and then lay waste.

That was game one.

Then it was dinner of pan fried chicken, some seriously lovely roasted potatoes (pealed, boiled, than roasted), steamed veg – wish there was some wine, but suddenly it’s saved for the cruise. With a $15 corkage. Not my call, just means killing more whiskey.

After dinner another round of canasta… they shouldn’t have let me play – wiped the table again. They shouldn’t have relearned me the game.

Got to get packed for the morning.

The cruise awaits.

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PS — poss spotty for the next week.

Ah, the tropical heat of Miami – didn’t miss it, still don’t. Plane landed on time – and by 8am I’d had a quick breakfast and was looking for someplace quiet to hang for a couple of hours until Dan and Lisa arrive from Tampa (driving). The answer – across from the post office (I also needed postcard stamps) was the chapel – not in my terminal, but pre-security. Nothing like spending your first three hours in Miami in church.

Actually, it worked out really will. I hung out in the back of the chapel with my luggage, in a dark corner – only two people popped in. I tried to look awake for them.

They made good time so we were out of the airport a few minutes after 11… much better than the noon I’d been expecting.

Next stop – some place that served healthy organic food between Miami International Airport and Boca Raton where Dan’s grandparents live. The answer was Metro. Dan and I opted for the cheeseburger with Fontana cheese, Lisa went for the seared Ahi – which is what I should have gone for because the burger was huge. Oh well.

Grocery store, then off to the Grandparents – me happily sleeping in the back of the Element. I really dislike red-eye flights, even up front.

Introductions, then naps for all of us – Dan and Lisa were up early as well as having a concert the night before.

Dinner of a veal pot roast, big salads (needed that) and a nice bottle of wine.

Canasta after the dinner dishes were cleared and cleaned. I watched and tried to get a feel for the game after a thirty year absence in playing. It may take me another round of watching as the game ended prematurely with Lisa scoring a “junk hand” on her first draw – for 5000 points, and the next round Grandmother Slyvia (Lisa’s partner) scored a win on pairs closeout after a couple of rounds – the odds of getting either of those hands is astronomical, and the odds of getting one after the other… well, I can’t calculate them.

Glad I wasn’t playing that hand.

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This was my ride up on the vertical deck last night for the full moon.

If I had more photographic ability I could have gotten all the backlit clouds, it’s like trying to photograph a sunset. The eyes are much better.

Today is all about last minute errands… 4G/3G coverage experiment with Jill, liquor store to booze to fill wine bottles, Jimmy’s for capsules for over the bottles, a carwash at the BMW dealer and onto Portlock for a hostess gift for Dan’s grandmother and some sake lees for Dan and Lisa.

With the capsules in hand, it was time to bottle some birthday “wine”… in the picture above, the left bottle is a lovely 12 year old single malt scotch, and the large bottle of “port” is Evan Williams bourbon… and the quart bag has hot sauce (for bloody marys), vodka, rum, two bottles of sweet vermouth for Manhattans, and the pink one on the top is a combination of cherry juice and bitters (also for the Manhattans). That’ll add a few pounds to the bag! And the things I do to cut down on my bar bill on a cruise.

Got everything packed for the trip to Miami tonight – snagged a free upgrade to first class for the 2719 mile flight. Thanks Swanda for the ride to the airport.

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Sounds like a repeat of yesterday, just new people at dinner. Today I finished the stairs, now just have to decide if I want a railing …

Items remaining … built in bench seating with will be more stable. More work to be done.

Dinner tonight with the boyz – Swanda and Dancing Bear. A starter of sushi, then the main is a soup (chicken vegetable) and salad with a couple of loaves of home-made bread. Sour cream for those (like me) you like it in their soup.

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Today was back to working on the deck extension… need stairs to get up to the lift platform. By the end of the day, here is what I got done:

Then it was off to dinner with the girlz – Darcie, Jeanne and Jill. Much talk about how to maximize the WorldMark points that Jeanne bought from the estate of her recently departed father. Gave them the bad news that the concept of Vancouver over New Year’s for this year was probably unrealistic – especially since they wanted a two bedroom, and there are like half a dozen of those units.

A wonder dinner of a savory stew like thing – served with a lovely dark bread. I wish I could figure out how to make a decent dark bread. I guess I should go through my 25# of white bread flour first.

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There are great shots of the car filled with lumber, but I’d like to show this shot instead. This is my kitchen filled to overflowing with friends.

If this is my day, I’m happy.

My kitchen doesn’t really seat seven – but it worked. Other than I’m looking like Santa. Thank god the lift is working and I threw the lounge chairs up there. It’s nice to escape 20′ up in the air with a drink and a comfortable chair.

But really, I have to post this picture my brother just posted on FaceBook… doesn’t he know this goes everywhere?

I’m the one in the center.

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Getting closer.

This was the dinner I prepared, but someone slept through.

It’s all good – I pigged out.

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Checked out of the condo at noon and dropped date off at Safeway – where he works. Swung through the outlet malls with coupons in hand and couldn’t find anything that made me want to pull out my wallet… this is probably a good thing.

I took my time heading back to Olympia – stopping at every Goodwill, Salvation Army and Thrift Store that I could find – meaning six extra stops, and lunch.

Got to Olympia about 4pm, Curt was home right at 5 and Rich showed up at 6 – three poker boys for a dinner of steaks, steamed vegetables, bread crudo, and several fine bottles of wine.

Life it good… since I don’t have to drive home tonight.

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Conference call this morning at 9:30… good news is that it looks like it will be some work in the October timeframe – some nice billable hours (before I leave for Thailand).

The call ran a bit long (more billable hours) so I didn’t get out of the house until about 10:30 for the drive down I-5 and across US30 to US101 south and Seaside. Grabbed a sandwich in Kelso and ate it while finishing the Wall Street Journal for today.

Found my date patiently waiting along the highway in Warrenton (between Seaside and Astoria) and managed to get the last little bits of shopping done and get into the room by 2pm. It was your basic handicapped one-bedroom. I had a three bedroom penthouse reserved for next week for a repeat date, but cancelled when I found out there was no spa on the deck. Well, that and Tuesday nights don’t fit with dates schedule.

I’m afraid none of the pictures taken in Seaside would be appropriate for a “family” site… but let me tell you I got quite a workout – and the steaks were good, too.

Instead, I’ll just pop in a publicity photo for the resort:

 Off to Olympia tomorrow.

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Funny how an entire day can slip away from you once you start running errands and what not.

The only news of the day (other than boring errands) was dinner with Dancing Bear before he checked into the hospital for a sleep apnea study. My guess is that he is about to join the CPAP generation.

Never did get around to discussing Vegas in December. Must do that if we are flying down together.

Off to Seaside after a conference call in the morning.

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