Author Archives: Sparky
TC1 Days 4 & 5: At sea
First I will report two technical successes. Due to the impending Hand, Knee and Foot training session, we needed to print a set of rules and some scoresheets. So I took the laptop down to Deck 1 where there was a “business center” with 3 computers and a printer and inquired at the service desk … Continue reading
TC1 Days 2 & 3: At sea
The first full day at sea was, as expected, quiet. At breakfast I tried the buffet scrambled eggs (terrible), bacon (good) and lox (excellent). I then, while waiting for Jett’s cappucino to be made, joined in on the attack on a 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. In the afternoon I attended an “international beer tasting” event that … Continue reading
TC1 Day 1: Embarkation
The process of embarkation – passing through the passport check, filling out health forms, checking in and receiving our on-board “keys” – went very quickly and we were aboard the ship in less than 30 minutes after our bus arrived at the dock (at 12:47 pm, to be precise). But the process contained an element … Continue reading
TC1: Our first transatlantic cruise – prelude
The start of our first transatlantic cruise has arrived! For the next 27 nights we will be aboard the Holland America Oosterdam, first crossing the Atlantic Ocean, then cruising the Mediterranean Sea, followed by two nights on land in Venice. It should be an epic vacation! To get started we had a day of very … Continue reading
Brush fires
Brush fires in March are common in southwest Florida. The Everglades may be wetlands, but they are surrounded by vast areas of grass and woodland that burn pretty freely once a fire gets started. Last year parts of Naples had to be evacuated due to fires that threatened the eastern fringe of the city. This … Continue reading
TN4 preview
Our Fourth Trip North (TN4) is not going to be very interesting. It will be a quick trip – 1650 miles in 11 days and 7 hops – necessitated by our need to get to VA quickly to pick up Rusty who we are leaving in the care of Jett’s kids while we spend their … Continue reading
Our plans for summer 2018
We have booked a site for the summer season: Lamb City Campground in Phillipston MA. This location is a bit further west than we would like – about an hour to North Andover and nearly an hour to Worcester – but it is close to Uncle Ray’s summer cabin in New Salem MA. It is … Continue reading
Lingering effects of Hurricane Irma
When we arrived at Paradise Pointe RV Resort in November, some 3 months after Hurricane Irma (Sept 16, 2017), we saw major damage to trees, along with some lesser damage to structures. Within a month most of the trees had been trimmed and the debris had been removed. I thought that was the end of … Continue reading
Green water
We have been noticing, for several months, that our water had a greenish tint. Sometimes it was barely noticeable and other times it looked like green tea. I tried several times to identify the source of the green and tried to compare water coming out of the tap with water coming from the ground, where … Continue reading
Another fine (and very expensive) mess
When we paid up front for our winter RV site in Florida I expected that our out-of-pocket expenses would be relatively low for several months. Well, we killed that thought last month when we booked our very expensive April cruise, justifiable as a “bucket list” item. Now I am facing a huge truck repair bill … Continue reading