Alaska Cruise Part I "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"

RiversEdge RV Park, Rio Dell, CA

It is time to leave northern California and my sister.   I have nested  long enough in her driveway.  Next year, I will be parking a trailer on my sister’s RV park down the road in Rio Dell.  The little yellow square is my spot up on the terrace ledge overlooking the river and across at the fossil cliffs.   Rezzie, please Sis?

I have been remiss in not keeping up with my blog but I have a good excuse. 

NCL Jewell to Alaska

I was on the BIG BOAT with 4 other wild and crazy women!   Of course, I refer to our planned cruise to Alaska.  It was a boatload of fun, helped along by outstanding weather, our own private bar on the ship and funloving sailing companions, including the most relaxed staff I have ever run into on any cruise.   

Here is a little slideshow video of the girls having fun!  Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

"Thriller" Dance Lesson with Twinkletoes

Here are a few favorites:  first is Mario, our Master of Dance Lessons, who provided many different styles of dance tutorials.  This one is the “Thriller” one where we were schooled in how to do the zombie Thriller dance routine.

As you can see, I am right WITH him!  It was a lot fun and my companions had many giggles watching the class learn the choreography.  My sister took many photos but I made her delete most of them.

Left to right:  my sister, Sharon, Marilyn, Theresa, ME, Arturo and Mary

My second favorite staff was Arturo, our private bar server in our private bar.  I’m not kidding; nobody on the ship knew about this bar; TwinkleToes told us to go there to play Texas  Hold ‘Em after he found us some poker chips.  We did not have enough chips so we supplemented out pots with different colored sweetener packs and salt water taffy.

We tipped Arturo in Salt Water Taffy each time he fetched extra special cocktails and on the final night, gave him a pound bag of his own.

But, I digress.  Here is a brief recounting of the highlights of our cruise.   It will have to be in at least two parts.

The day before the cruise, all traveling females gathered in Seattle at the Downtown Executive Inn, which was notable in its “tinyness”—the room was so small that two people could not pass each other at any point.  It reminded me of the RV Shuffle; where the aisle is so narrow that only one person walks while the other must stand aside and wait their turn.  The hotel also had no parking.   Of course, the price wasn’t tiny since were only steps away from Pike’s Market. 

   

Walking to Pike's Market

Awesome Gourmet Popcorn Selection

Mare and Sharon sample popcorn

Enroute to Pike’s, we found a gourmet Popcorn store where popcorn was sampled before purchase.   This was serious  popcorn with nuts and chocolates added-Oh My!

Sisters Sharon & Susan at Lowell's Seafood

We went to the Market for a seafood lunch overlooking the Bay

and then returned to an all-girl Celebratory Champagne Toast in our tiny room.  

Unfortunately, I was late for the Toast because I was desparately shopping at the downtown Target purchasing a second digital camera.  Despite having ordered extra batteries for my camera, I left the charger at home plugged into the wall.  One cannot buy a charger anywhere except online.  (I returned the camera to Target for a full refund upon my return to Eureka.  Thanks, Target!)  But, my friends saved me some champagne and I made up for my lack of liquor on board at dinner which we all walked to (some in a straight line) and had a great time with a Performing Waitress (true!).

Next morning, I took a hike in search of the car which was in an adjacent garage with no direct access to the Tiny Executive Inn (what a circus parking was!) .  We piled luggage stuff and bodies inside and headed for the Pier 66 a mile away.

 

“Freestyle” Cruising on NCL’s Jewell means never being late for your assigned dinner seating or entertainment.  No schedules—no dressy up clothing.  Wonderful Idea!

Getting on ship was pretty much a breeze; here I have snagged my first sailor.

From the Garden Cafe where we had our first meal before departure and enjoyed a stunning view of the city skyline...

...and our luggage

Note on FOOD:  The food was fine but, as we were to learn, the food on the cruise had “ups and downs” and, by midweek, we were ordering chocolate ice cream for dessert rather than the Chef’s suggestions.  Generally, the food lacked character and intensity; it seemed like the Chef was conserving on taste additives (the chocolate dessert LOOKED chocolatety but lacked an identifiable chocolate taste).   And, my usually forgiving sister returned two entrees to the kitchen because they were undercooked!  Blindfolded, one would have been hard pressed to identify some menu items .    

Where was Chef Ramsey?  

I vote for a new Ramsey makeover TV series for NCL:  Hell's Cruise!

But, again I digress. 

 

Finally, the announcement came that the luggage was onboard!  Holy Excitement-we can finally unpack and relax!   

We girls have two rooms just a few doors away from each other; one of them has a balcony where we had room service each morning of coffee, chocolate croissants and fresh fruit.  Our sweet cabin steward brought us extra chairs for the balcony so all five us us could sit outdoors.

 

Mare,who is a sleeper-inner, and I share the DarkRoom Inside Cabin .  This room was BLACK Dark even in the daytime!

The room TV's  have a camera station where one can see the bow of the ship (and weather) at all times.   Here are Sharon and Mare doing their Vanna White impressions.

Our sweet cabin steward made us towel animals daily; this was my favorite--a towel monkey hanging from the ceiling.  It was a daily delight going back to a freshly-made up cabin and your new towel animal!

Miraculously, all female gear was unpacked and stored without difficulty in the small cabins and soon it was departure time!   

We gathered in the Top Floor bar for spectacular views of Seattle and the port and...

Whoops!  Ship is moving-it's time to order Bon Voyage cocktails!

Mary and Theresa Toast our Bon Voyage

Many cocktails later, some of us  (Mare) were chair  dancing to the music...

 

Later, a Peek-A-Boo lounge chair to rest one’s body!

One should hesitate to ask too many questions about this chair design.  (And, yes, I did have to sprawl on the floor to get this photo but many cocktails later, noone seemed to notice.)

After sampling nearly the entire drink menu among us, we choseThe Favorite #1 cocktail choice, a coconut-rimmed libation (GoGo CoCo Nuts).

We had our first formal dinner in the big dining room served by eager and attentive young men who ceremoniously handed us menus and placed linens on our lap.  Whoooeeeee!

This Dining Room was at the rear (aft) of the ship (we had to look up ship terms in port on my smartphone Wikipedia)... it cost $55 for 110 minutes of internet time on the ship.

We dined to an amazing sunset!  

Tomorrow, we will be At Sea all day and will have to read Ship's Activities left by our towel animal and choose from the many scheduled entertainment activities.

Portland, Woofstock &The Earthquake

One of the most scenic California drives, National Scenic Highway 199 aka Redwood Highway, twists and turns through ­­­tall redwood forests, skirts the northern California coast and follows streams and rivers fed by melting, mountain snow.  

Our tiny Prius (the State Car) rarely reached 45 mph as 3 well-fed adults with luggage and a dog headed for a family birthday/reunion in Portland.  

My grandniece, Claire, was turning 5!   She was very proud to be able to display her entire hand with all 5 fingers UP and started calling the adults by their real names to celebrate her maturity.

The Eureka/Florida group is meeting my brother Phil, his son Luke and Luke’s longtime girlfriend, Laura (the Washington DC group) for a birthday bash in a public park in downtown Portland.
  



 
During their visit, they rented bikes instead of a rental care and cycled to the  Farmer's Market and Beerfest.  Luke is a veteran BEER afficianado and SCIENCE Fan (Tee shirt reads " Science...It works, Bitches".

Portland is  “dog friendly” and Cassie has made many new dog friends based on sniffing rear ends.

Here are my sis, Sharon, me 'n Cassie and husband, Norm, with a ole geezer chairs and margaritas.   The weather was Perfect in Portland.

Portland has many colorful “neighborhoods” and public parks are plentiful and the center of family activities.  Portland is also well-known to attract alternative lifestyles and spawned an interesting HBO series, Portlandia (check it out on Netflix-it's hilarious!).  People ride bikes everywhere as the streets are narrow and there is almost no public parking. 

The adults staged a Safari Treasure Hunt; hid a dozen small stuffed wild animals and shouted hints for the wee game hunters.   The kids squealed with delight whenever they found an animal!


Here is Birthday Girl Claire carrying her animals to a safe wildlife preserve.
  

A Treasure Chest full of gold chocolate coins and gaudy jewelry was the reward for bagging all the animals.

Later, Olive Rootbeer and Dingo Dizmal rode in on high bikes and entertained with  silly songs,  games and made custom balloon-animals. 

Olive and Dingo launched rubber duckies from a cannon for the kids to chase down and staged a burning building rescue scenario for the young firefighters to participate in.  Finally,  Olive began creating custom balloon art for kids of every age.  

Here is my favorite requested by Luke--it is a mad monkey on a motorcycle!

The big kids had as much fun as the real kids; here is the adult “Magic Bridge” where every adult butt is supported by a 5 gallon pail; the 4 pails are removed one-by-one and the bridge remains standing-it’s magic!  In the end, Olive jumps on top of the bridge and collapses--lots of fun and giggles by kids of every age!

After the kiddie games came to an end, the adults took a drive to enjoy the Historic Scenic Columbia River Highway, which included a stop for the must-see 

Multnomah Falls (2nd highest waterfall in US), 

Bonneville Dam 

and at least a hundred wind surfers and kiteboards flying on the windy river.

After returning home, we learned that Woofstock was returning to Eureka; 

it is a fund-raising activity for the no-kill animal shelter and is  aimed at fun for dogs and owners with games for dogs such as "weenie bobbing" and all kinds of cute dog vendor booths. 

I loaded up the kiddie stroller for Cassie while the bigger (and better-behaved) dogs walked.  Cassie is in the stroller, Bella, the Pug Diva-Pack Leader  occupies the high lookout point and the mild-mannered and sweet GoldenDoodle, Ozzy just wants to be loved.

I felt my FIRST EARTHQUAKE!  Here is the  official geological data:  it was on July 12,  centered about 40 miles south of Eureka and was a 4.0 magnitude.  I was in bed in my RV when it occurred and knew it immediately.  I reported the unusual shaking to my sister the next morning.  She had been asleep and did not feel it but verified it with one of the many natural disaster websites she has bookmarked.

 PDE-Q 2012 07 12
103907.59

40.75 -123.69  27 

4.0 MwNC    ...40

It has been a late-blooming summer and

sunshine has been scarce; however,

when you get a sunny day on the 

northern coast of California, it's a great

beach opportunity with the dogs!

Here's the gang packed into the Prius 

after a romp on the beach--note the 

tongues all hanging out.

Here's Cassie squiggling in the dark 

sand. 

When we got home, I had to give all

three dogs a bath. 

Thursday, my sis and I head for

Portland for the first leg of our drive 

to Seattle and the Alaska Cruise! 

In the Redwoods

Not much bloggin' goin' on lately but I am having a great time in Redwood Country with my sis!  One of the most enjoyable aspects is the weather, which hovers between 50-70 degrees all the time; it is usually cloudy/foggy in the AM and the sun emerges around lunchtime. The sunshine is softer than Florida sun and has a deeper yellow hue which, when it hits the rain/misted leaves, glistens and is super-pretty.

Wine is cheap in California and I found my favorite "everyday" vino, Blackstone Merlot, for $5.99 at CVS versus $11.99 at Publix.  Even more exciting, there is a "new" pourable margarita cocktail that is sooo refreshing and fruity- it is dangerous!   It is a heavenly concoction of grapefruit, tangerine and tequila and it is smooth and delicious and available in mass quantities at Costco.  You can see that we bought two cases to tide us over until the cruise (Aug 25).

It is also medicinal; Sharon's hubster Norm, had hip replacement surgery 3 weeks ago.  Between naps with the dogs, he chases his Vicodin with a margarita.

When I get a burst of energy, I work a little on my RV which never fully recovered from the onslaught on Lovebugs in northern Florida.

It required some scrubbing and following that, an application of Rejex, "Nothing Sticks But the Shine!" (a thin-film polymer coating, used instead of wax or polish, to provide the ultimate, durable high-gloss protective finish for vehicles of all types).

I mentioned in my last blog that I had vehicle body damage from whatever I hit in the road and decided to do the body repair myself.  Here are some photos of the project.  I have custom paint in waiting, but it has been too humid to apply.

BOO-BOO's

Fiberglass Filler

Sanded, ready for paint

After all that work, my parts have been a bit grumpy.  Thankfully, muscles are pummeled back into anatomical position thanks to the students at the nearby Arcata Massage School.  Even though they are supervised by proctors, they do some of the weirdest techniques!  One of them stuck her fingernail on the end of my toes with pressure.  She got the message that it was not a soothing move when I came out of my semicoma with a startled mini-scream.  


While looking for an activity that does not require a lot of standing or walking (since my Sis needs an ankle replacement), we hit upon the Ladies Flat Track Roller Derby event at the fairgrounds.   I knew nothing about it except what little I had seen on cable and thought it would be a grin to watch "women with intimidating nicknames in short shorts, tatoos and facepaint beating the crap out of each other at high speeds!"  

This is Serious Fun!   There has been a tsunami in The Roller Derby World and there is even a cartoon category for ladies' roller derbying!   While men have always had football, now women have Roller Derby!  It is enticing to think one can legally--in a game--knock people down, speed skate and adopt a dangerous nickname to wear on your shirt.   I would probably do this if I were 30 years younger!

For those unfamiliar (including me) with one of the only full-contact sports for women, here's a quick rundown:

Each 30-minute half is broken into shifts called jams.   A pack of eight players, called blockers, hold the front position while two jammers wait in the back. When the whistle blows, the two jammers try to break through the pack and out the other side. 

Once the jammers make their way through the hips and elbows of the blockers, they are able to begin scoring, earning a point every time they legally pass a member of the opposing team.


This poster sums up my position on the subject:

Today, an extraordinarily dreary weather day Sis and I took the loose coins to the nearest CoinStar and went to the Bear River Casino where we did not win any money.  So, we lunched at the Eel River 100% Organic Brewery (it's a California thing) where 

the beer was bold and cold ...

....and wall art reflected local industry-related witicisms.


In about 10 days, I will be going up to Portland to attend my grandniece's 5th birthday and reunite with family members.  My sister and I are in charge of the kiddie gift bags and the Safari Treasure Hunt.  We went to the Thrift Shop and bought 12 stuffed animals for $2.20.   Between now and then, we must think of clue-rhymes to help 5 year olds look for a specific animal like: 
 "I go Meow and I'm not a Bat.  
Look for 4 legs and a tail and find the *___."  


*Answer:  Cat

Eureka!

Eureka!  I have arrived!


The expression "Eureka" is the state motto of California, referring to the momentous discovery of gold.   It is also an exclamation of a joyous moment!  I am very happy to be reunited with family and finished with driving after 3,486 miles!

ScrabblyPants Alert:    eureka is also a legal Scrabble word--a noun meaning "an alloy of copper and wire" and is worth 10 points.

What a welcome change the mountains were from the aridness of the desert!  I stopped in Lassen National Park and asked a visitor to take a pic of me 'n Mt Lassen.  There was snow on the ground and most roads were still closed.

On the final leg of my long journey, about an hour from Eureka,  I heard a BIG BANG located somewhere on my RV's exterior.  I was traveling in the Shasta-Trinity mountains on a remote stretch of a 2 lane road with guardrails on one side "every so often" and a mountain on the other side-- always.   This particular section had no guardrails, so the descent to the river canyon below would have been unfettered by obstacles should fate decide to claim me.  It occurred to me that the end would be mercifully quick.

Did that BIG BANG herald the beginning of the end for MovinSue?

Well, the fact that you are reading this should tell you the answer is "NO".  The BIG BANG was my tire exploding from contact with something in the road that I did not see.  It was a beautiful sunny day but that caused the heavily-forested road to be "dappled" and thus impossible to make instantaneous adjustments between light/dark areas.  So, I must have hit a rock which frequently roll down the mountain, dislodged by seismic and geologic forces and clumsy mountain goats.


Fortunately, I maintained control and saw a small shoulder ahead and pulled off theroad.


Now, you might think that this would simply take a cell phone call to summon Help.


WRONG!  Even my smartphone is not smart enough to figure out how to catch signals at 4000 feet in a forest of mountains midway between Redding and Eureka.


I  was resigned to summoning  help from a random motorist.  The first person to arrive was a female driving a trailer.  She slowed down but did not stop as she apparently did not want to pull the trailer uphill from a dead stop in the middle of the road.   I thought she appeared to be underpowered for mountain hauling--so OK-- I trotted along beside her slowed rig and asked her to stop in the Rest Area about 2 miles away and ask the employee to radio CHPS -(California Highway Patrol).

Almost 30 minutes later--here comes another car--Yay.  A lone man--Nay.  He did not stop or slow and that was actually OK with me.  And, then I saw the same vehicle headed back in my direction.  I was somewhat concerned but not alarmed as I approached the vehicle.  I had already gotten my "convincer" out of the RV, made sure it was loaded and put it in my purse.   The man asked if I needed assistance.  I said Yes.  

I had noted there was a dog paw decal on the car door saying "Rescue Me" and thought this was meant to be.   I asked him about the decal and he gave me some very reassuring answers.  He offered to transport me AND Cassie to the next town to get some help.   Since no car had passed since the trailer and him in about 30 minutes, I agreed.   I did not want to be stuck up on this mountain in the dark!   He got out and jotted down my tire specs while I got Cassie in gear and we set off for Willow Creek, about 6 miles away.


Eureka!  Andy's Auto Care was there with a heavy duty tow truck, a garage and a wonderful woman named Candy.  She took on my insurance company to get a faxed purchase order for Roadside Assistance which required talking to 3 different people--including some dude in Kazaquchstan whose English skills were almost non-existent.  My knight in shining armour departed after he was certain I would get the assistance I needed from Candy and Andy.

Here is Andy with his tools; before I took his pic, I asked him if he was a "wanted, fugitive from justice" because his pic would be on the internet.   

The Highway Patrol finally arrived and stayed with me and my vehicle while the replacement tire was taken back to the shop to be put on the rim and balanced.


So, after two hours and $83 for the only used spare tire on the mountain, I was on my way.  

I had finally gotten a Verizon signal in Willow Creek and called my sister--who was in her cups and simply remarked "OK see ya later!"

OMG I was so excited when I arrived in Eureka and spotted the rarely-seen GOOGLE CAM!  I have been looking for the GOOGLE CAM CAR for a couple years and all of a sudden--there it was right in front of me!  I frantically felt around on my cockpit desk for my camera while winding my way through Eureka traffic and finally got the proof.

 After I got parked in my sister's yard, I discovered I had also sustained some body damage on the bumper which I am going to repair myself with some fiberglass poo concoction.  The RV manufacturer gave me the paint color formula.

Sharon then warned me to always preview my exit from the RV before letting Cassie out because she has a Mama Bear and three Baby Bears in the area.  The bears are especially active on garbage pickup days.  She got a picture of the bears in her driveway to emphasize the need for caution.


I have been having a great time here in Eureka; my sister and I have already had massages at the school up the road where students try hard to please and the $25 price is right!   We have already booked weekly massages through July.  

I also met up with my friend Kate from Florida who is dating her ex-husband, Gary (who lives in Oregon). 

Kate and Gary and I had cocktails and dinner at the Moonstone Grill overlooking the rocky shoreline in Trinidad.   This is the beach level view, but the restaurant is up the hill and has an impressive view of the shoreline.  

Those two gazed with googoo eyes at each other and giggled like adolescents with silly secrets the entire time.  Actually, all of us did some serious giggling...

I had my 63rd birthday on June 3 and got an Asus Transformer 300TF tablet.  My sister bought an IPAD2.  We both have gadget fever and I am learning how to use mine and hers too.    This is my Aquarium living wallpaper and you can see I have 8 emails.  No mouse, no keys--only finger swipes and presses!   Except for the fingerprints on the screen,  I just love it!

I also got a 1992 Cadillac to drive while I was visiting for the summer.  It is kind of a disposable car; it shakes and shimmies shamelessly on the road but is drivable and even has power seats and windows that work!


Cassie is having a blast being off leash most of the time and running with the country dogs, Ozzie and Bella.  She had her first Doggie Day Care experience yesterday It's all About the Dogs!.  

The Doggie Day Care place has a PuppyCam where you can watch your dog play.  The facility is a palace for pups with individual beds in 5 X 5 motif pens with TV's for Overnighters,  an Intuitive Counselor who gives Reiki massages, cuddle service and a Kong add-on with choice of peanut butter or jerky.  

Only in California!