This pretty wells sums it up

 

Elections!

We had a Provincial Election in British Columbia.  The election was very close.  There were recounts and as usual, both parties are present when the recounts take place.  After it was over the loser of the election, posted this on Twitter:

This morning, I personally took part in counting some of the final ballots in Surrey-Guildford. @ElectionsBC staff were all incredibly diligent in their work and very thorough in ensuring transparency. 

I feel confident in their work. 

We now await a judicial recount in at least one riding. Regardless of whether we pull that off or even if David Eby wins government by one single vote—this is democracy. 

They lost and what an eloquent post.  Today the US has a presidential election.  I hope they have the same reaction if they lose.  Somehow I doubt that may happen and I really hope I am wrong.

On our cruise, a fellow passenger from Arizona gave me this button to wear.  I wore it on the cruise and on the flight home.  I hope someone who read it will react to what it says:

Dr. Jack Taunton

25 years ago I was referred to the UBC Sports Medicine Clinic.  I knew the name Taunton, because Mr. Taunton was my boss at Kelly Douglas!  He was the nicest boss and a lovely person.  I asked Dr. Jack if he was related to him.  Mr. Taunton was his dad.  Dr. Jack and I worked at Kelly Douglas at the same time.  He was in the warehouse and I was in accounting so we wouldn't have crossed paths.  He worked at Kelly Douglas through high school and university.  Dr. Jack was so personable.  He couldn't help me, told me what my problem was and sent me to another orthopedic specialist.

I was sad to read this article when were on the our cruise:

The UBC Thunderbirds family is mourning the loss of Dr. Jack Taunton, a giant in the field of Canadian sport and exercise medicine, and member of UBC's Sports Hall of Fame. Taunton passed away this week at the age 77.

As a pioneer in sport exercise medicine in Canada, Taunton founded countless organizations and initiatives including SportMedBC and the BC Brain Wellness Program.

 

Taunton faced serious health complications as a child, and recovering from these experiences spurred his earliest interest in sport medicine. He went on to become a nationally ranked marathoner, completing 60 races with a personal best of 2:25:29. Taunton did this while attending UBC medical school, where he was one of the top students despite battling dyslexia. 

 

In 1971, Taunton started Canada's first road-running club, the Lions Gate Road Runners, alongside fellow UBC Physician Doug Clement. With their wives Cheryl Taunton, and Diane Clement, the couples organized local races that would eventually grow to become the BMO Vancouver Marathon and the Vancouver Sun Run.

 

Immediately after completing his Doctor of Medicine at UBC in 1976, Taunton, Clement and Don McKenzie co-founded the Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre. As director of the centre for over 25 years, he worked with athletes as both a doctor and a coach, and with students as a graduate supervisor, clinical teacher and mentor. Over the past four decades, innumerable UBC students, athletes and coaches have benefited from his expertise.

"As our team doctor for over decades, Dr. T was always positive and encouraging. For myself and countless other athletes there was never an injury that you couldn't come back from or a timeline that was too tight to get you back on the field of play. No hurdle was too significant to overcome. It was obvious that's how he lived his life and it's how he inspired everyone around him." Robin D'Abreo, field hockey Olympian, Director of Athletics, UBC.

 

VANCOUVER,BC:NOVEMBER 27, 2021 -- UBC Thunderbirds v University of Saskatchewan Huskies during U Sports Canada West action at UBC in Vancouver, BC, November, 27, 2021. (Rich Lam/UBC Athletics Photo) ***MANDATORY CREDIT***

Dr. Jack Taunton at his 2021 induction to the UBC Sports Hall of Fame alongside former UBC President and Vice Chancellor Dr. Santa Ono 

 

Due to his boundless resiliency and optimism, Taunton always had a knack for accomplishing the impossible; including supporting athlete health at eight Olympic Games and earning a rare distinction from the International Olympic Committee for the best sport medicine program in Olympic Games-host history for his role as Chief Medical Officer for Vancouver 2010. 

 

Along the way, he served at hundreds of other events locally and abroad, including coordinating the medical portion of Rick Hansen's Man in Motion World Tour, even running alongside Hansen for nearly 100km a day across Alberta and part of Saskatchewan. 

 

Taunton's work ethic, innovation and team approach garnered Jack numerous awards and accolades, including the UBC Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Faculty Community Service and induction to both the UBC and BC Sports Hall of Fame. Just this past year, he was deservedly appointed to the Order of Canada.

"I feel privileged to have had the chance to know and work with Jack over the years. The impact that he made here at UBC cannot be understated," said Kavie Toor, Managing Director, UBC Athletics and Recreation. "Jack's passion for our community as a mentor, a supporter and a friend embodied the true spirit of the Thunderbirds. His contributions, in both athletics and academics, have left an indelible mark on UBC Athletics." 

 

A Thunderbird for life, Dr. Jack Taunton never stopped supporting UBC Athletics, forever lending his passion, skills and voice to helping UBC's student athletes. 

 

 

Time Change

Ship life

We are home and we really enjoyed this cruise.  We find repositioning cruises have a lot of frequent cruisers and the passengers are usually older.  It's a very relaxing cruise.

Every meal was superior.  We usually stay away from the buffet, but there was always a table and again, great choices and tasty entrees.  I am taken away with the staff in the buffet.  They are very quick in clearing tables, bringing coffee and marching along with the drinks cart.  I would say the best staff in a buffet I've seen on Princess for a long time.  This ship doesn't look like they are short staffed like others I've sailed on. Good for Princess.

The ship entered service in 2007.  She doesn't look dated.  The ship is in excellent shape.  I miss some of the venues on the Royal Class, but the balconies are larger.  She holds 3,117 passengers.  Very few children on board, mostly in strollers!  

People always ask me what is the best place for a stateroom.  My choice is mid-ship, mid aft or aft.  I always choose a lower deck as if the seas are rough it's better lower down.  Always check to see what the deck above and below the one you choose is.  If there is a lounge and you go to bed early, chances are you will hear the music.  Cheryl and Dave once had a cabin on top of the casino and they could hear the machines.  This trip, I booked quite late.  The only balcony I could get was aft on deck 15, underneath the buffet.  It's an easy walk, just up one flight of stairs.  In our room we can only hear carts rolling.  At first when I was trying to sleep I thought it was a jet engine.  It wouldn't wake you up, but you do hear it.   

Day 15 - Fort Lauderdale

 

The view from our balcony on the ship.  What a gorgeous sunrise!

Goodbye Emerald Princess

After a nice breakfast we headed to the Princess Theatre to get our last shore excursion.  Princess offers a short excursion and drop off at the airport.  Great for passengers with a late flight.  We took the Miami Airport & Fort Lauderdale Waterways Discovery Tour!

Our tour left the port at 8:30 and we drove along the beach in Fort Lauderdale ending at Las Olas drive, a trendy street for nice coffee shops, lovely stores and we were to meet at the Cheesecake Factory!  Too bad we just ate breakfast. 

After an hour on shopping and enjoying the warm temperatures, we walked to our boat tour.  It was a 90 minute tour of the waterways of Fort Lauderdale.  The boat was two stories, we stayed downstairs as it was really warm and windy and the lower floor was air conditioned.

The yachts and homes were magnificent.  We saw Dave Thomas's house, the founder of Wendy's.  The largest home on the waterway is home to a husband and wife.  It's 40,000 square feet!  

We got dropped off at the Miami airport where we easily found the Air Canada check-in and boarded a direct flight to Vancouver!  The flight was early and our luggage arrived on the flight!  It's always nice to be home even if it's cold and raining.

Day 14 - our last day at sea, then Fort Lauderdale

It's always sad to say goodbye to the nice people you meet and the incredible staff on board.  This is a longer cruise.  It attracts a different demographic and many have done a lot of cruises.  I find these more relaxed.  The Emerald Princess does longer cruises.  We are looking at one of the European cruises next summer, but still trying to decide.

This is the very first day we have some action in the sea.  We are rolling a bit, not enough to make you ill, but you need to be careful walking.  I have never been sea sick and I always feel sorry for those who react to the rough seas. I always watch everything I eat and stop any alcohol.  Sad when you paid for the Princess Plus package, but it does include water, great coffee and my favorite, fresh orange juice.  It's worth the price because by the time you pay for gratuities, wi-fi (even though we get 50% off) and what we will consume, it's worth it.

Princess also offers Princess Premium for people who like a better type of alcohol and more perks.  One of the nice perks is a reserved seat for the production shows in the theatre.

We went to all four production shows.  See the seats with the blue covers?  These are the empty Premium seats saved for those people who got the Premium package.  They are not going to shows, or they didn't have that many with the package.  The people standing are waiting for 5 minutes before show time so they can get the unused seats.  

There were lots of activities yesterday.  The activity we love is Voices at Sea.

These are passengers who've been singing on the ship.  They selected six passengers and the winner got a trophy.  They were all good and we got little handhelds to vote.  The French gentleman won by 86%, he was awesome.  There were two BC residents, one from Victoria and one from Terrace.  It's always a crowd pleaser.

One talk they had in Explorers Lounge was a talk with the entertainment staff.  We missed it, but you can always catch anything you missed on the TV, so we watched it while we were packing.  

The entertainers all came on board at the same time  They are on a 17 month contract with two breaks of 5 weeks.  One reason they enjoy it, is the life at sea.  The entertainment industry isn't always the most reliable for a pay cheque and this gives them 17 months of work.  Most have been doing this for many years!  Some contracts are 5 or 6 months, but they applied for the longer one.  After they finish their contract on the Emerald, they have their 5 week break and then go to the Ruby Princess.  Both the Emerald and Ruby are longer cruises.  They have four shows on the Emerald, only 3 of the shows they know are on the Ruby, so they will learn a new show before they leave so they can perform it on the Ruby.  They have four vocalists, more than any other line I've been on!

The Farewell Variety Show 

A wonderful variety show and a farewell from the ship's officers!

We got up yesterday and the entire ship was decorated for Halloween.  Streamers, pumpkins and every food venue had a beautiful cake!  A lovely way to end a wonderful cruise.