Back home!

I came back last night after midnight.  Nice flight, very long day.  I still have lots of pictures to sort, but when you are only away for a few days and you come home to local news that is shocking.

If you've ever been to Steveston you would know the iconic place.

Dave Scott, founder of Dave’s Fish Chips in Steveston, died Nov. 20 of pancreatic cancer.  Dave lived very close to us in Steveston when he opened his first shop on Chatham Street.  He was young, had a nice wife and children.  They all worked in dad's Fish & Chip shop.  Lots of teens got their first job working for Dave. 

Vancouver Sun Obituary - Dave Scott

Now for some happier news.  Russell Jewellers was located by London Drugs in Richmond for many years.  Thanks to Jerry, who sent this on to me. 

Phil Daley owner of Russell Jewellers

Phil Daley of Richmond’s Russell Jewellers retired this week after working at the watch and jewellery shop for almost 60 years.  Friends and customers dropped in celebrate the 81-year-old’s career on Saturday, his last day of work.

Jack Russell, Phil’s father-in-law, was the original Russell behind the shop’s name. He was a watchmaker in Winnipeg who moved out West and founded the shop in 1960. Phil started working there in 1961.

One nice thing about living in a community for many years, you get to know the long time merchants.  Phil was a wonderful guy and a great jeweller.  You could get a watch battery for $3.25 and when he installed it he always said "now you have time on your hands!".  When we were married for 25 years, Cec wanted to buy me a band to match my wedding band.  It had 7 diamonds and curved around my engagement ring.  We went to see Phil and he said "you've been married about 25 years, and my wife has the same wedding set",  He made a custom ring that looked gorgeous. 

In later years, he would only work four days a week and his son Mark would fill in for him.  Mark is  just as nice as his dad.  A successful businessman with a wonderful shop.  He was everyone's friend!

Wednesday - day at sea

Today we have a wonderful day at sea.  Time to explore this gorgeous ship.  Jeanie and I went to a talk this morning, more of a Q & A with the executives of Celebrity Cruises.  Lisa Lutoff-Perlo is the CEO!  It's great to see women in high positions.  Celebrity says 20% of the bridge staff are female and 30% of the rest of the staff are female.  It's the highest female ratio at sea!

Celebrity has reinvented cruising.  There are so many innovations with this ship.  Start with the water bottles.  NO plastic water bottles on this ship.  All the water bottles are aluminium and recycled.  A few frequent cruisers commented on the shape of the bow.  It's inward, but makes a smoother ride and uses less fuel that the original style bow.  The meteorology department all wear I-watches.  They are connected to a site in Europe that watches weather patterns all over the world.  Any changes, they are immediately notified.  Many officers wear this I-watch!

Terminal 25 was built for the Edge.  There are no lines.  They ask everyone upload the app on their cell phone, do the check in process, scan your passport and photo and print your boarding pass.  When you reach the escalator at Terminal 25, a security officer checks your passport with your boarding pass and you walk on the ship!  Your room key is outside your door.  It's touch technology to enter!   Your phone app is your plan for the day.  Reservations for meals can be made and you can control your TV and room lights with the app!  They do not charge for wi-fi to use the app.  There is a white box on the table.  It hides all the plugs you need.  220, 120 and two USB ports!  What a fabulous idea!

The electrical plug box.  Note the aluminum water bottle.

The running/walking track has an incline which is great for the fitness enthusiasts.  There are 29 restaurants and bars.  All the public restrooms have a button to open the door so you don't have to touch handle.  In our cabin bathroom there is a light under the vanity that's on all night.  If you get up, you can see where you are going without turning on a bright light.

We've found the crew to be exceptional.  Today we were told in our Q & A the crew quarters were just as nice as the passenger areas.  It's nice to see a company treats their staff well.

Tomorrow this journey ends.  We will be sad to disembark but happy to have had this wonderful experience.

Today we boarded!

At 11 AM this morning we came to Port Everglades.  The Celebrity terminal is brand new and was built for this ship.  We walked in, showed our boarding pass and passport and we went up an escalator.  When we got to the top, we were told they weren't boarding yet but to take a seat and it would be soon.  It wasn't long and they took Elite Plus and Aqua Class, then they called for Concierge Class and we walked on!  No lineups, just a gorgeous boarding room. 

There are electrical outlets to charge electronics under the benches every five feet!

The atrium

This is our room.  I put a video of Jean closing the balcony off from the room and lowering the glass.
This nice part of this balcony is it's part of the room if you want.
  If you want to open the balcony, you close the sliding doors so the air conditioning stays on in the room.

The closet is not too big, however, it has a safe, binoculars, and two fluffy robes!

One of the pool areas.

Food is the best part of a cruise.  When Celebrity built this ship, they said they were changing the way people cruised, and they have!  There is no main dining room.  If you've sailed Celebrity before you will know Tuscan Grill.  It is a specialty restaurant on the Solstice class ships.  We've eaten there and the food was outstanding.  On this ship there are four dining rooms. Tuscan, Cyprus, Normandie and Cosmopolitan.  Each restaurant has one side of the menu with the same entrees, but each restaurant has the other side of the menu with their specialty items offered at their venue.  Tonight we ate in the Tuscan Grill but I ate off the main side.  Tuscan is Italian theme and they had some tasty Italian entrees. I may try the specialty side next time.  If you choose set time dining, you get the same table every night at the same restaurant.  If you choose open seating you can eat in any of the four restaurants at whatever time you want, no extra charge.

There are other specialty restaurants; you pay a fee but the food is spectacular.  Fine Cut Steakhouse, Le Grand Bistro, Le Petit Chef, The Magic Carpet, Rooftop Garden Grill, Eden Restaurant and Raw on 5.  There are more complimentary venues; Grand Plaza Cafe, Eden Cafe, Oceanview Cafe, The Spa Cafe and Juice Bar and Mast Grill.

I had escargot  The green is parsley in the garlic butter.

This is a beet and feta cheese salad!
The presentation is excellent.

I had prime rib.  It was tender and delicious!

Of course every Italian restaurant offers tiramisu for dessert!

There is so much more to write about, but I will save it for another post.  The godmother of this ship is Nobel Peace laureate, Malala Yousafzai!   What a wonderful choice.

Sawgrass Mills

Sawgrass Mills is an outlet shopping mall, in Sunrise Florida. a city in Broward County. With 2,383,906 square feet (221,472.1 m²) of retail selling space, it is the eleventh largest mall in the United States, the largest single story outlet mall in the U.S, the second largest mall in Florida. 

When cruisers come to Fort Lauderdale, many go to the mall.  When cruiseships dock, some have post cruise bus tours, they take you to the mall when it opens and back to the airport at three.

If you want to check out the many stores and restaurants, here is the link:

Sawgrass Mills website

We had a great shopping day.  Jeanie and I both got some great bargains.  They still had Black Friday specials on. 

Tomorrow we board the ship!

That pretty well sums it up!

I'm on my way to Fort Lauderdale

I will post when time and internet permit.  I don't know if I will be able to post while on board.  We are on the Trade and Press Cruise!  Two nights at sea exploring this gorgeous ship.  We sail on Tuesday afternoon and back in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday morning.  I am travelling with my friend Jeanie who is a travel agent at Maritime Travel.  She asked me to be her roommate.

We have a nice hotel close to Sawgrass Mills, so tomorrow we will be hitting the factory outlet mall.  Great getaway, weather is awesome!  The forecast shows 86F today in Fort Lauderdale.  It's going down to 84F tomorrow and then they have a cold snap into the high 70's.  I think I can handle that.

The Celebrity Edge was built at the STX Shipyards in France.  We are on the first passengers to sail on this ship. 
    130,818 gross tons
    306 meters/1004 ft. long
    39 meters/128 ft. wide
    2,918 passengers

This picture was posted on Twitter this morning!

Grand Theft Otter: Team Otter or Team Koi

A river otter on the loose in Vancouver's Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is still playing coy and slaying koi.

The elusive creature has been feasting on the prized koi fish in the garden's pond for several days and has continuously evaded attempts at capture. Park staff have said they are "devastated" by the loss of the beautiful fish.

Overnight Wednesday, it apparently sneaked into one of the traps set up by the Vancouver Park Board, ate the meat used as bait and then slipped away.  On Thursday morning, another half-eaten decorative carp was discovered, bringing the body count to approximately seven.  Staff quickly disposed of the evidence Thursday morning while curious onlookers gathered outside the park gate to sneak a peek at the hairy otter.

The park remains closed to visitors and the media, but passersby said they were fascinated by the exploits of the cagey carnivore.

The otter continues to take the bait and now they are bringing in a wildlife expert to trap the otter and relocate him to the Fraser Valley so he won't return.  There are a lot of salmon right now in the Harrison River and that's the most likely place he'll go.  

There is worldwide interest in this story.  It has been picked up by BBC.  However, in Vancouver there are two groups:

Team Otter or Team Koi

Captured in Chinatown on security footage

As much as I love fish, you have to admire this little critter for finding his way to the park, helping himself to the trap food without triggering the trap.  I'm on Team Otter, he's a clever little guy. He's had his own twitter feed for about a year @ChinatownOtter and of course, I am following him!

Packing Tips

Packing is pivotal. Forget an essential item and you're left disappointed and scrambling to find the nearest store in your destination. Pack too much and you end up disorganized, burdened with heavy bags, and hemorrhaging money to pay for pricey airline baggage fees. So below is my favourite tips.  If you know of anything else, let me know.  

1. Roll, don't fold.

Many travel experts—including backpackers, who must stuff months' worth of clothing into a pack the size of a box of wine—agree that rolling is superior to folding. Tightly rolled clothes take up less space than folded ones. Plus, they're less prone to getting deep wrinkles from fold creases.

2. Make a packing list

When it comes to packing, procrastinators fall short. Start your packing process days or even weeks ahead of your departure date; this gives you time to craft a complete list, plus purchase any additional items you might need for your vacation. Creating a packing list is a fail-safe way to ensure that you never, ever forget to bring something important.  I have one that works for me.  It's in Word format so you can change it.  Email me and I'll pass it on.

3. Know your airline's baggage-fee policy

Figuring out the airlines' tricky and befuddling baggage-fee policies is key to any budget-minded packing strategy.  So many airlines are now charging hefty fees for checking baggage.  Some of the low cost airlines are charging for carry-on.  Best to check before you get to the airport.  Paying fees online is usually cheaper.

4. Follow the 3-1-1 rule

What happens if you don't follow the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) 3-1-1 rule for carry-on luggage? Attempt to bring a large bottle of shampoo or a full-size gel deodorant through the security line and the TSA will likely confiscate your stuff, holding you up in line in the process. So get familiar with the agency's rules: All liquids brought onto planes must be in 3.4-ounce bottles or smaller and inside a single, clear, quart-size zip-top bag.

5. Use your personal item wisely

It's standard for airlines to permit each traveller to bring one carry-on bag and one personal item on board planes. This personal item is subject to specific size requirements (these vary by airline), but something like a purse, laptop bag, or backpack is generally acceptable.

If you are female, take a huge purse or a tote bag.  You can fill a lot in these.  If you are flying, remember a sweater as it comes in handy if you get cold or you can roll it and use it as a pillow.

6. Never check essential items

It's terribly important to keep your valuable and essential belongings in your carry-on bag, not in your checked luggage. Your passport, identification, money, credit cards, jewelry, electronics, and other valuables should always be brought onto the plane with you.  probably don't need to tell you why you need to keep your passport and wallet on your person. But if the airline loses your luggage (or if a TSA agent gets sticky fingers), you'll regret stowing your expensive watch in a checked bag.

7. Use packing aids

They come in various sizes and colours

Your suitcase looks really neat

I bought Heys packing cubes on The Shopping Channel!  There are many types you can get on Amazon or at a luggage store.  They are awesome as you never need to unpack in a hotel.  Just put them in a drawer and unzip them. 

Awesome cosmetic hangar case.
I never unpack it, just leave it hanging in my closet ready to go.

This electronics organizer keeps all my cords nicely stored.

Now I've posted this, I better start packing.

55 years ago....

Shortly after noon on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas.  Everyone who was alive that day remembers where they were and the days that followed.  

Many books have been written about the investigation and the Warren Commission that came afterwards.  Maybe one day the truth that is sealed in the US will be opened and released to the public.  

Funny Christmas Stuff!

This one cracked me up:

Why didn't I think of this 40 years ago?

That's about right, but I would accept a world cruise!

Tuesday morning chuckles

 Today they have signs for everything....are we that stupid?

 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Lynn Colliar, we will miss you!

For years, I've watched Lynn Colliar on Global TV.  Lately she's been the weekend anchor on the Saturday and Sunday morning four hour news program.  I enjoy some of the segments and guests they have on.

During the spring Lynn would comment on the Beef Dip at Kings Links.  Her young daughter Teagan takes riding lessons in the area and Lynn would often drop by after her daughter's riding lesson.  She got to know everyone there and they loved her.  Lynn is married to Glenn Ennis, now a stuntman in the movies but formerly a rugby player on Canada's first World Rugby Team.  He was just inducted into the BC Rugby Hall of Fame.

Lynn discussed her IVF treatment a couple of years ago.  She had trouble conceiving and her fertility doctor was a guest.  I really enjoyed listening to her difficulties in conceiving and the enjoyment of delivering a healthy baby girl.

Lynn disappeared from the morning news in August.  I thought she went on vacation.  She has been gone so long I asked Maria if she was eating at the golf course.  Of course, I thought and hoped she was pregnant again.  Maria said she came in, looked good but had lost weight.  She always was thin, so then I worried perhaps she was ill.

Lynn finally announced on Twitter she was leaving journalism after nearly thirty years!  The tributes on Twitter have been heartwarming.  Former news people and leaders have all wish her well.  She is taking time to be a "mom".  On Sunday, Jay Janower, her morning co-host gave a fitting tribute.  If you didn't see it here is the link:

Tribute to Lynn Colliar

For all my friends, new and old

A newlywed young man was sitting on the porch on a humid day, sipping ice tea with his Father.
As he talked about adult life, marriage, responsibilities, and obligations, the Father thoughtfully stirred the ice cubes in his glass and cast a clear, sober look on his Son.

"Never forget your friends," he advised, "they will become more important as you get older." "Regardless of how much you love your family and the children you happen to have, you will always need friends. Remember to go out with them occasionally (if possible), but keep in contact with them some how."

"What strange advice!" thought the young man. "I just entered the married world, I am an adult and surely my wife and the family that we will start will be everything I need to make sense of my life."
Yet, he obeyed his Father; kept in touch with his friends and annually increased their number.

Over the years, he became aware that his Father knew what he was talking about. Inasmuch as time and nature carry out their designs and mysteries on a person, friends are the bulwarks of our life.
After 80 years of life, here is what he, I and you will have learned:

Time passes.

Life goes on.

Children grow up.

Children cease to be children and become independent. And to the parents, it breaks their heart but the children are separated of the parents because they begin their own families.

Jobs / careers come and go.

Illusions, desires, attraction, sex....weakens.

People can't do what they did physically when they were young.

Parents die but you move on.

Colleagues forget the favors you did.

The race to achieve slows.

But, true friends are always there, no matter how long or how many miles away they are. A friend is never more distant than the reach of a need, intervening in your favor, waiting for you with open arms or in some way blessing your life.

When we started this adventure called LIFE, we did not know of the incredible joys or sorrows that were ahead.

We did not know how much we would need from each other.

Love your parents, take care of your children, but keep a group of good friends.

Stay in touch with them but do not impose your criteria.

Red Hat Lunch

Yesterday we had our November Red Hat Lunch.  It was hosted by Trudi and Joan and they chose The Water Street Cafe in Gastown.

It was a gorgeous day to go to Gastown

The restaurant is in a heritage building.
Formerly the Edward Hotel built in 1906

The restaurant is across the street from the famous Gastown steam clock.

There were 14 of us today, a great turnout.  The weather was amazing!  It was Alfie's birthday and they gave her a wonderful dessert.

We had tourists taking pictures of us through the window!

I had Panzanella, a wonderful salad with charred bagette, cherry tomatoes. red pepper, avocado, crispy capers, basil, kale
tossed in a wonderful sherry vinaigrette

Two of the ladies split a salmon burger and ordered calamari fritti with fried jalapenos!

I took this picture from Sinclair Center on the way home.