Royal Caribbean Drone Show

It took me a long time to figure out these were drones.

Toward the end I could see the frames.

They never bumped into one another, even doing

those intricate patterns.

This was somethin' to see!

I

Spring Breaking on the Navigator of the Seas!!!

I had been sitting on a very special offer from Royal Caribbean for weeks. On the day it was expiring, February 28th, I decided to go for it! It was expensive to fly to the departure point (Los Angeles) and it was only a 4 day cruise (too short) but it did go to destinations which I had not visited before (Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico.) I had a big 14 days to get ready!

I swallowed my pride and asked for a wheelchair in LAX. What a good move that turned out to be. American's terminals are under massive construction, and it was miles (seemed like, anyway) from our landing gate to baggage claim--a complicated exit from one building and long walk to another. And almost immediately I began to meet angels along the way. There was the wonderful person who pushed me so far,  and there were lovely Royal Caribbean reps who joined us along the way!

                       Waiting for the Royal Caribbean bus!

My very first view of the ship from the bus!

The first time Jack and I cruised on the Navigator was in 2003, and it was with our whole family. The ship seemed really big then, but it has been surpassed so greatly by the mega ships that it actually looked small now--at least from this distance.

Boarding was a breeze. Here is my embarkation photo!

By the time I got onboard it was after 3:00 P.M. Texas time, and I was hungry. I had gone planning to wear a mask 100% of the time outside my room, but our rooms weren't available yet. So...I went up just to check out the Windjammer for lunch. It was not crowded at all, and I was able to sit at the end of this table for 12 (!) with a wall to my back. I felt perfectly isolated and safe! Sat there again later in the cruise!

Looking forward

Looking back

A waiter even put this on "my" table so no one else would sit there!

And then we sailed away! I was so excited to be onboard again!

Police boat escort as we left

We sailed past the Battleship Iowa, docked at our port.

 The guns on the front were sobering to me.

Bye, bye land for a while!

Now I must interject a bit here...it may be "Bye, bye" but we won't be far!!! We're just sailing from the San Pedro pier to Catalina Island. We have about 36 hours to make a trip which takes 3 hours by ferry, because our first day is "at sea."

 So...you know how I've always said I didn't care about the ports...that the ship could just go round and round out in the ocean and it would be fine with me? Well that's just about what we did! At some point late the next day the captain announced that we were "turning around and heading back to Catalina Island!"

Then it was time to eat again, this time in the dining room. I had said I was going to get room service and eat my meals there, but my room was very small, had no table, and was difficult even for my room service continental breakfasts. So I went down just to check out the dining room situation. I told the maitre' d of my wish to be distanced, and he told the waiter to take me to "625." That table turned out to be the last in the back of an area. Again my back was to a wall. Here are pictures...I felt safe!

And the food was fabulous--but no pictures of it! I'm slipping.

My waiter took this one. 

And I took this one!

Since the Navigator is older now, I took so few pictures onboard!

I didn't even take one of my room, but it was very typical!

I did get these pretty shots.

A very mediocre one of the theatre.

Almost too late I realized that I could go to the Cosmopolitan Club every day at 5:00 PM for hors d'oeuvres and drinks. I only went once, but it was fabulous! Those horse do-overs are my favorite type of food.

A beautiful spot!

Wasn't it thoughtful of Royal Caribbean to have furnishings which matched my Outfit Of The Day?

After our day "at sea" we arrived at Catalina Island. I did not get the message that it was mountainous! And I had booked an excursion in an open air Hummer! "It won't be rough, the shore excursion guy told me!" Ha!

*I'm going to zoom way in on this picture later to show you something amazing!

Catalina is a tender port, and that is one of our tenders returning to the ship.

The little shore town is Avalon.

I took my Swig cup and filled it with my room service coffee. It would last all morning!

My tour was at 1:00. I got Paul, one of the Excursion experts, as my guide. As a bonus, his wife Sally, who was the spa manager, was with us. They adopted me and coddled me beyond belief! If we got off the Hummer, they would have me by both arms!

Here we are tendering ashore!

Our Hummer--holds 12, but there were just 10 of us

Not rough, huh, Mr. Shore Excursion salesman? Twelve miles we bounced up!

Looking up, we were told that tree line will be the peak 

of our journey.

Not there yet. Photo stop!

Selfie with my angels, Paul and Sally.

Now we're there--at the top--these are the trees in the line we saw from below!

*Here is the earlier picture taken on arrival from my balcony.

I have zoomed way in on it, and atop those mountains is the exact tree line to which we traveled in the Hummer.

The ship artfully framed by one of the trees!

My tour the next day in the port of Ensenada was called 

"La Bufadora & Mexican Folkloric"

Click below to see the a bit of the Folkloric!

https://youtu.be/BvAIT3IApkM

La Bufadora is a natural marine geyser or blowhole which shoots water 60' into the air--at regular intervals when I was there!

https://youtu.be/qSQ7XgHZP2Q

My obligatory wildlife shot. Is it a pelican? 

My obligatory fish taco, cause they were supposedly invented here in Ensenada! I like Rockfish's better!

I almost missed this event on my cruise. It was on the last night at 9:30 P.M., and I forgot about it until all the tickets were gone. I managed to finagle one, expecting to see the usual amazing skaters. Well, I did see plenty of those, but the beginning of the show was like nothing I've ever seen before in my life! I only took a very short, woefully lacking video which I have tried unsuccessfully all day to get on here. Then I found something better!

So...please come back tomorrow to see something which would have been worth the whole trip to me!

And here I am waiting at the airport for about 6 hours before my flight home. My back is killing me because there are no chairs available at my gate. I've spent hours waiting 

across the way in the Jet Blue area! But it was totally worth it! Even if it was just 4 nights!

           

Scam Alerts!

Since I am a member of the "Alexa Silver" generation, I feel comfortable in sharing a couple of warnings with my contemporaries. I consider myself pretty shrewd when it comes to  spotting scams, so when one even tempts me for a moment, I worry about my friends! This one almost got me--but it shouldn't have, and I'll tell you why!

 

Now I knew immediately that I did not order this (or at least did not remember ordering it!!!) But everything about it looked legit. Or did it?  There are no obvious misspellings, but...

Look at the return address. It's on the second line, next to a tiny flag.  See all that gibberish? Totally unreadable. 

Amazon.com (noticationsgapepppnvbaunyfceimhgpfyzxadzx@googlegroups.com)

A legit Amazon return address is very readable. For example: 

Amazon.com (payments-messages@amazon.com)

This is so small, I'm afraid you can't read it on a phone, but it says: Amazon.com (payments-messages@amazon.com) and is actually from one of my emails from Amazon.

So guess what happens when you click on that "View or manage order?" You are asked to give personal information to a scammer! You have been caught! Don't give personal information. If it is a legit communication, they already have your information!

This second one is kinda funny...not serious...but still irritating.   I have a phone which announces who is calling, so I don't answer any calls which come in "Anonymous," "Invalid," or "Unavailable." This week I got one, and this caller was announced: 

It got me. I was afraid one of my fellow silverettes was stuck at Tom Thumb without her phone and having to borrow theirs to call me for help. You are going to think I'm making this up when I tell you who was calling me and why!

You see...my extended car warranty was about to expire, and I was being given one last chance to renew it. 

Honest.

                                                    

My Nemesis: The Car Wash!

Most of the time I drive a dirty car.

I'm not afraid of the car wash. I use the one at the corner of Bowen and I 20. It does not make me feel claustrophobic, and I do love a clean car.

But...

It's just getting into the darn thing! Lining up my front tire with that little slot is not something at which I seem to be gifted. Recently I had to actually turn my wheel severely to the left and drive over one side of the metal slot to fit in, which was disconcerting as all get out, and probably a bit destructive!

I decided today was the day. I've learned to throw myself on the mercy of the guy taking my money. I told him that I am not very good at getting in the groove and that the person supposed to be helping me was often impatient. He seemed quite concerned and sympathetic. But...I guess that wasn't good enough for me. I then proceeded to quite obviously drive over the curb to the right as I exited the payment station (to reinforce the seriousness of my problem I guess!) I died laughing to myself! I've never done that before, but I couldn't have planned it better. I'm laughing hysterically again as I type this!

Being now duly concerned about the safety of their equipment,  the payment guy rushed over to help me get lined up while the official helper, as predicted, assisted with impatience! But I dazzled them both with my exuberant through-the-window thumbs up and smile. Even made the helper melt just a bit!!!

And guess what? It rained on me on the way home!

My Life Has Been Changed for the Better

 

I really started reading the Bible through in January of 2021 just because I thought it was about time! I had briefly tried a few times before, but this time was different. This time I didn't try to accomplish the goal on my own strength. I asked the Holy Spirit to give me HIS strength! And He did. With His help, I never once considered giving up. So the most important decision you can make, if your desire is to read the Bible through, is to lean not on your own strength, but on the strength and power of God through His Holy Spirit.

Tattered and torn, this is the plan I used. It was from my church, and I felt it was excellent. I still have an intact copy should you desire it.

And this is the Bible I used as I read:

This Bible was a gift to me from my daughter-in-love, Terri. It was ideal for my purpose in that it had margin notes which helped me understand more difficult passages.

Friends, the going will get tough some days. I also found this app to be very helpful when reading lengthy chapters in, say... Jeremiah or Ezekiel. It is Bible Gateway, and it has an audio application...read by a golden toned male voice.

I followed along either on the phone screen or in my Bible as I listened, giving myself a double chance at retaining.

Most of you know that I am not a morning person. My goal was always to read my Bible first, but many days I did not get up early enough to do that. So, although I would consider that ideal, it doesn't matter what time of day (or night!) you read. The Holy Spirit was with me 24/7.

Now I know many of you are thinking, "Well, I just don't have as much time as Linda!" And few of you do! I have a lot! But on days that I was thinking "Whoa, this is long," I would compare the time I was spending to the time I spent on social media! This would get me back on track pretty quick!

So how was I changed?

I gained knowledge, understanding, discipline, closeness to my Savior, a greater love of the Scripture, a sense of obedience and accomplishment, a feeling of dedication, and an ever deepening daily gratitude, not necessarily in that order. I am also discovering that my daily reading has become a habit with me! A very good habit! I am feeling a little lost while I await the delivery of the plan I am going to dedicate myself to in 2022!

I was "changed for the better and changed for good." 

A Challenge For You!

Another year of Covid it was. Of placing limits on our social interaction. Of vaccines and masks and caution. Of  losing  friends and watching others suffer sickness.

But I would not call it a "bad" year. In fact, I would never call a year "bad" when I wake up 365 times to see the (late!) morning and greet my Savior. Especially when He has already granted me a long and joy filled lifetime!

But 2021 had some "good" things for me, too. The first happened in April when my daughter Susan and I bravely but cautiously traveled to New York.

  It was just about perfect, but it was not the best

thing that happened!

The second Big Event of my life in 2021 was not a trip.

In fact, it was vastly different. 

In May, I had quite a scare with an illness necessitating the removal of a polyp, along with 12"

of my colon. But...I was amazingly unafraid and trusting.

And the polyp was benign.

It's difficult to say anything that happened in 2021 could be better than this miracle. But...

Skip forward all the way to August for Big Event #3. It was something I thought I would never get to do again. I not only got to take a cruise, it was on my favorite cruise line--Crystal! I spent 7 spectacular days feeling perfectly safe on the Crystal Serenity, luxuriating in every minute!

This trip was spectacular, but not the best!

Then in October I got to fly to Grand Junction, Colorado, and travel by car with my cousin Sarah to her home in Cedaredge.   It was a beautifully different world to me.

Even though we had such a blessed and joy filled time together on her wonderful "mountain" (which she insists is just a hill,) this is still not the very best!

The very best thing that happened to me in 2001 is:

I READ THE BIBLE ALL THE WAY THROUGH.

While I was being blessed with all these other joyous activities, my Bible and my plan were traveling right along with me.

I cannot say that I never got behind. I did.

But I can say, I never gave up! 

I'll remember 2021 as a very good year for this reason.

Reading the Bible daily and from cover to cover has

been a HUGE blessing to me.

Stay tuned, and I'll tell you how "I" did it, 

and how very blessed I have been by doing so!