Geezer IX - Geezer Day 4

We woke up to another gray day, but at least it wasn’t raining.  After everyone was up and finished with breakfast we decided to visit the Pioneer Museum in Flagstaff.  Old Route 66 runs through Flagstaff so the museum has a section devoted to that, which we were all interested in.  The Route 66 display was pretty interesting as were the displays on the history of Flagstaff.  They had an old train engine on display outside along with a caboose.  I found the caboose very interesting as it was left as it was when operational.  There were other displays of old vehicles and buildings on the grounds so we spent quite a bit of time looking at them.  It started raining again so we finished our visit to the Pioneer Museum and headed back to the house.

Greg, Dave and Jack looking at the exhibits.

Greg, Dave and Steph on old engine number 12.

My favorite - the caboose.  Notice the cupola on the top at the back.

The inside of the caboose looking towards the back ...

and towards the front.

There was one of these seats on both sides looking out the cupola towards the front of the train.  I guess that's how they were able to see what was going on with the train.

One of the old buildings on the grounds.

Val is fixing dinner tonight so she and I had to hunt for a market to buy her groceries, but we soon joined the others back at the house for lunch.  The rain continued during the afternoon so we spent the afternoon talking, playing games and reading.

The puzzle is getting very close to completion.

The squirrels were quick to notice some more food in the feeder.

For dinner Val recreated a dinner we had in Labrador, Canada on our recent cruise.  It was a simple dinner, but we really liked it and Val asked the chef for the recipe and she actually made a copy and gave it to Val.  Val did an excellent job of recreating it and we had a wonderful dinner.  The main ingredient was a glaze made with cloudberries that grow in northern Canada and Iceland.  We managed to bring back some cloudberry preserves from our trip and Val used that to make the glaze.

Val wanted a picture of everyone at dinner and tried to include herself.

After dinner it was more talk until it was time for bed.  During the evening the weather cleared and we could see clear skies overhead.  Hopefully that will hold through tomorrow as we are planning on taking a trip to Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments.

Geezer IX - Geezer Day 3

We heard rain on the roof on and off during the night and it continued after we got up.  If you had asked me what kind of weather to expect in Flagstaff in September I would not have guessed rain.  Oh well, the main purpose of our trip is getting together with old friends so the rain doesn’t really matter.

John and Jack put in some work in on the puzzle.

One of our new friends paid us a visit, but no handouts this morning.

Our only morning activities were talking, reading and working on the puzzle so after lunch we decided to get out of the house and visit the Riordan Mansion State Historical Park in Flagstaff.  The Riordan’s were a prominent family in early Flagstaff and owned a large lumber yard and mill.  The mill was run by two brothers and in 1904 they built a 13,000 square foot mansion for their their two families.  There were two separate residences joined in the middle by a common area.  The home was designed by Charles Whittlesey who was also the architect of El Tovar, the famous lodge on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  The design was an “arts and crafts” style that featured a design emphasizing simplicity and lots of light to contrast the popular Victorian style that was popular at the time.

After walking around the grounds for a while we took an hour long guided tour of the inside of the house led by Elizabeth who worked as a docent at the park.  She was very good and we learned a lot about the family, the house and the early days of Flagstaff.  I really didn’t expect much, but it was really very interesting so for anyone visiting Flagstaff, I would strongly recommend a visit to the Riordan Mansion.

The Riordan Mansion.  This view is of one of the family's residence.

The other family's residence is to the far left with the common area in the middle to the right.

The Geezer's gather at one entrance to the house.

This is the gatekeeper's house.

The entrance to the front yard.

There were a lot of interesting things about the house including stained glass windows and these carvings.

Our tour starts with our guide Elizabeth on the left.  There were no pictures allowed in the house so this was the last of our pictures before the tour started.

The weather had varied between partly sunny and rain all afternoon and when we finished our tour it was raining again.  John and Greg were taking everyone out to dinner tonight so since it was already after 5:00 we decided to go straight to dinner.  We all wanted Mexican food so we went to Salsa Brava, which was rated as the best Mexican Restaurant in Flagstaff.  One of its claims to fame was that it had been featured on Guy Fieri’s Food Network show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  The dinner was excellent and we all had a good time, thank you John and Greg.

The Geezers at dinner.  From the right front, there's Jack, Steph, Greg, John, Val and Dave.

It was still raining when we left the restaurant, which led to a slow, cautious drive back to the house.  When we returned, the puzzle makers worked on the puzzle while the rest of us read and chatted.  The end of another great day in Flagstaff.

Geezer IX - Geezer Day 2

When we got up this morning we were surprised to see that it had rained.  It continued to rain on and off during the morning as the skies would clear and then cloud up again.  We hadn’t made any plans so the rain didn’t hinder anything, but it did keep us inside.

We were entertained for a while watching the squirrels go after the bread we put out on the feeder, but we spent most of the morning talking or reading.  Jack has a new quad-copter that he wanted to try out so during one of the periods of clearing we went outside and watched him try that out.  It is much better than his old one and the performance was impressive.

Jack, Greg and myself as photographed from Jack's quad copter.

 

After lunch the skies cleared and Jack and I decided to go for a walk.  I wanted to see what was at the end of the road the house is on so we walked up that road and found it ended at a ranch entrance with a private property sign on the fence so that ended our walk up the road.  There were train tracks right there so we decided to follow the service road along the tracks and see where that led.  The tracks were a main east-west line so we saw four different freight trains as we walked.  They were all pretty long, but one in particular was huge with nine engines.  There were four in the front, two in the middle and three more on the end; it was very impressive.  After walking for a while we wondered whether we should turn back or go on so I looked at our location on Google Maps on my phone and saw that the tracks passed under Interstate 40 ahead so we decided to press on and walk the frontage road back from where the tracks go under the highway.  It turned out to be more than a five mile walk, but it was mostly flat so not too strenuous.

Standing further back and in the middle, one of the locals wondering who was walking down their road.

We decided to follow the tracks.

Jack took a picture of me.

While Jack and I were walking, quite a bit of progress was made on the puzzle.

We relaxed until it was time for dinner and then enjoyed another excellent meal prepared by Steph.  It was a bean soup with corn bread, which was another childhood favorite that several of us remembered from our youth.  The entertainment for the night was the showing of videos I had made of last year’s Geezer trip and our February road trip to Houston - it’s nice to have a captive audience.  After the videos we had dessert (another piece of the delicious cake Steph made last night) and then spent the rest of the evening talking.  Several times during the evening we saw lightning and heard thunder as the rain returned.  The forecast is for more rain tomorrow so it looks like we might be housebound again.

Geezer IX - Geezer Day 1

As is usually the case, everyone is on their own for breakfast so we each got up and wandered into the kitchen when we felt like it.  We spent the morning talking and doing not much of anything else while we waited for John and Greg to arrive.  Val brought a jigsaw puzzle along for everyone to work on.  We've done this for the past several years and we end up doing a lot of talking while we fit the pieces together. Other than that it was a typical Geezer Gathering; not a lot of excitement, but lots of conversation.  We are geezers after all.

John and Greg flew into Phoenix and rented a car for the drive to Flagstaff.  They arrived right on time around noon and stopped on the way to buy lunch supplies for the week.  We helped them unload their luggage and groceries and then we all sat down to lunch.

After lunch Val presented everyone with their gift bags that she prepares every year, which includes our Geezer t-shirts.  We also usually bring back something from our travels and since we had just finished our Voyage of the Vikings cruise we brought everyone a Viking helmet; the group photo should be very interesting this year.  The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting, laughing and working on the puzzle.  The whole purpose of our yearly get together is to be able to spend time with one another and catch up on what is going on in our lives.

Val does the t-shirt design every year and I think this is one of her best. Historic Route 66 went right through Flagstaff and is an important part of the history of the city.

Steph was in charge of dinner tonight and made a delicious meal of pork chops, rice and a cucumber salad, but the real star of the meal was the dessert.  Steph made the best chocolate cake that I have had in a very long time, it was delicious.  She said it was called wacky cake and the recipe came from her family and the depression era – I can see how eating cake that good would make you feel better during a bad time.

After dinner we talked a while, but Greg and John had been up since the wee hours of the morning to catch their plane so they called it an early night and the rest of us followed suit soon after they did.  Nothing is planned for tomorrow so it will probably be more of the same.

Geezer IX - The Trip to Flagstaff

It’s about an 11 hour drive from our home to Flagstaff, but as we usually do we decided to do it in a leisurely way and take three days.  It has been our custom since our working days when heading to the Southwest to spend our first night in Tehachapi, CA.  It’s only a three hour drive from our home, but it made for a quick getaway after work.  It’s no longer necessary, but we still do it as one of our favorite barbecue places is in Tehachapi.  The Red House BBQ not only has great ribs, but also very tasty side dishes.
 

After a great dinner and good night’s sleep, we were off to our next stop, which was Harrah’s Casino in Laughlin, NV.  It was a little longer drive, but still just a little more than four hours so we got in around 2:00.  We always get comped rooms and food and we enjoy gambling there so it is a good spot to stop for us.  We checked in and found our room wasn’t ready so we spent some time gambling.  We tired of that so we walked outside and watched the activity on the Colorado River, where many of the hotels are the hotels are located.  We checked again and our room still wasn’t ready so we relaxed for a while and had some snacks in the Diamond Lounge until our room was finally ready.  It was worth the wait as we were once again given a suite to stay in, but instead of a view of the river our only view was the front of the hotel and the distant mountains.  It really didn’t matter since we were only there overnight.
 

We went down to have an early dinner since we hadn’t eaten anything except for some snacks since breakfast.  Last time we were at Harrah’s in Laughlin we had eaten at the new Guy Fieri’s El Burro Borracho so we went there again.  We had a great dinner and then spent most of the rest of the evening gambling.  Val had her ups and downs, but ended up losing her gambling money, but I did better.  I usually have terrible luck in Laughlin, but I finally broke the curse, thanks to a nice hit on a dollar slot machine; I actually left with a profit.

The drive from Laughlin to Flagstaff was only three hours and since we couldn’t get into our rental house until four, we slept in.  After getting up and packed we decided to have a big breakfast in the buffet and not eat again until dinner.  The buffet was OK, but not great, but we did get filled up and it was free so the price was right.

Except for a surprising amount of traffic around Kingman, AZ the drive to Flagstaff was an easy one and we arrived around 2:00 and headed to the grocery store to buy supplies before going the rental house.  After getting groceries it was just after 3:00 so we called the owner of the house and he said we could get in early so hooray for that!  We easily found the house and while I unloaded the car, Val started preparations for dinner.  Our dinner theme this year is our favorite foods from our childhood so tonight we are having hot dogs, hamburgers and potato salad.  I had gotten a recipe for potato salad from my cousin Cheryl in Michigan that her mother used to make that I really liked, so that was what Val was working on.

Jack and Steph pulled in about a half hour after we did so I helped them unload their car.   John and Greg are flying in this year so they won’t be here until around noon tomorrow.  After catching up for a while, it was time to start the barbecue and start grilling the hamburgers and hot dogs.  Dinner was great; we rarely eat hot dogs so they really hit the spot and the potato salad tasted really good and reminded me of my childhood in Michigan.

After dinner it was more talk and catching up before we called it a night.  The house we are in is very nice and although close to town, it borders on the national forest.  It is very quiet at night so we should get a good night’s sleep.  We all are looking forward to John and Greg’s arrival tomorrow.

Geezer IX - Here We Go Again

It seems like we have just gotten settled after being gone for over six weeks and suddenly it's time to go again, though this trip will be much shorter.  It is that time of the year when we hold are annual "Geezer Gathering" and this year it will be in Flagstaff, Arizona.  For anyone reading this who doesn't know what this annual event is, the "geezers" are Val and I, Jack and Steph, and John and Greg.  The tradition started the year we all turned 60, and every year since then we have been renting a house for a week each Fall at a different location.  John, Val, Jack and I have known each other for over 50 years. For more details here is a link to where I first wrote about it in more detail.

This is a special event for us, and even though we have traveled to some amazing places, it is still our favorite thing to do.  Nothing is better than getting together will old friends who you don't see nearly enough.  So, the bags are packed, the food is packed and everything is ready - time to hit the road.

Voyage of the Vikings Cruise - Wrapping It Up

This may have been the best cruise we have been on.  When you combine a great itinerary with the best service we’ve ever had, it puts it right at the top.  We loved everywhere we went, but I think our favorite place on the trip was Iceland; it is a beautiful country with friendly people.  We spent four days there and every day was better than the last.  We also loved visiting Greenland as it was a unique experience that we never thought we’d have.  For the sheer beauty of a pristine, isolated wilderness, cruising through Prince Christian Sound was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had traveling.

Next in line of our favorite spots would be Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man; our tours through the countryside in those areas were highlights for us.  In Ireland we only saw the city of Dublin so we didn’t see much of the countryside so we would like to go back and tour the whole country as we have heard about how beautiful it is.  Norway was also wonderful, but we were really limited to what we could see on our visits there.  We had a good time in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, but compared to the many of the places we visited it didn’t seem as exciting to see.  Our visit to the Canadian Maritime provinces whet our appetite for a road trip we want to take through that area as we just couldn’t see enough of the area with our limited time in the ports.  There was nowhere we went that we didn’t enjoy on this cruise, every port had its own unique character and beauty.  I now know why this cruise is so popular.

The Rotterdam was a great ship to sail on and the staff was one of the best we’ve encountered.  Mervin and Celeste in the Neptune Lounge were the best concierges we’ve ever had as they were able to answer every question we had and take care of everything we asked.  We also met some really great people on this trip.  We enjoyed our dinners every night with Ken and Mary Beth and Richard and Glen.  We had a great time in Iceland and St. John’s with LT and Cindy.  Ken and Mary Beth take a yearly trip to Monterey, CA in October so we’ll be getting together with them in Big Sur and are looking forward to seeing them again.  We also enjoyed all the people we met while gathering in the Neptune Lounge and the people we played trivia with.  On a 35 day cruise you meet a lot of nice people that you really enjoy getting to know, which adds a lot to the trip.

So now it’s back to everyday life; no one makes our bed or brings us our meals and we have to do our own laundry, but it is good to be home.  Val’s cold has turned into walking pneumonia and my cold has developed into an ear and sinus infection, but at least we waited until we got home to get sick so it didn’t impact our enjoyment of the cruise.

So that’s it for now.  There’s no rest for the weary and in a few weeks we’ll be leaving for Flagstaff, Arizona for our annual “Geezer Gathering”.  After Flagstaff we’ll be spending a few days in Las Vegas and then we will be done traveling for the year.  See you on down the road.

Voyage of the Vikings Cruise - The Trip Home

Chicago

Neither Val nor I got much sleep last night as the train was very noisy; every time we went over a switch in the tracks, which was often, the train made a loud bang and rocked back and forth.  Besides that, the trains in the east have only one level so you are much closer to the tracks and hear much more noise.  We got up around 7:30 and neither one of us was in a very good mood after our near sleepless night.  We had breakfast in the dining car and then went back to our room to await our arrival in Chicago.

We arrived in Chicago on time and made our way to the Metropolitan Lounge where we had a five hour wait until the Southwest Chief (our train to Los Angeles) left.  As I said on the trip east, the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago is brand new so they are still decorating and adding things, which led to our entertainment for the morning.  They were hanging a giant picture in the area we were sitting in so we were able to watch and of course supervise and give advice; not really, but it kind of felt that way as they had a small audience.

We started getting hungry and headed to the food court for lunch and then had only a short wait until our train started to board.  It’s always a bit hectic getting to the gate and boarding, but we were soon sitting in our room watching the countryside go by.  This train is so much quieter than the train we were on yesterday I hope we can get a good night’s sleep tonight.

We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and watching the countryside go by until it was time for dinner.  We both had steaks for dinner and they were pretty good considering the limited kitchen space the train has, but the service was the worst we’ve ever seen on the train.  It appeared they were trying to organize it in some way, but it had the opposite effect as it was totally disorganized.  We had a 7:00 reservation and we didn’t get back to our room until after 8:30, it should never have taken so long.  Oh well, it’s not like we had anywhere else to go.

We were both pretty tired so it wasn’t long before we decided to have the beds made up and to try and get a better night’s sleep tonight.  Tomorrow we’ll be on the train all day.

Train Day

Last night we both got a good night’s sleep as the train ride was much quieter and smoother.  Someone told us we would like the trains east of Chicago much better than the ones in the east, but I have to disagree with that after our experience.  We got up just after 8:00, but we went from central time to mountain time just after we got up so it turned out to be just after 7:00.  We decided to pass on breakfast this morning as neither one of us wanted to go to the dining car.

We sat and read and watched the world go by for a while, but we learned the train stop in La Junta, Colorado was going to be for a half hour so we decided to get off the train and stretch our legs.  Right across the street from the train station we spotted a donut shop and decided we would have our breakfast there.  Donuts are a guilty pleasure of mine and I hadn’t had one on our entire trip so far so I thought it was my lucky day. 

After enjoying our breakfast, it was back to the train and we continued our journey home.  The train just kind of rolls along and so does the time as we spend our time reading, talking and just watching the world outside our window.  We made our lunch reservations for 1:00 and the service was only slightly better than last night; I really think they need to reevaluate their system.  After lunch we spent the afternoon much as we did the morning.  The train stopped for almost an hour in Albuquerque so we did go out and wander around for a bit, but other than that we just relaxed.

We made our dinner reservations for 7:00, but as the time drew nearer, neither one of us really wanted to eat another meal in the dining room so we went to the cafe car instead and had some snacks for dinner.  They told us the train was running early and we would be arriving in Los Angeles at 7:20 AM instead of 8:15.  This meant we would have to be up by 6:00 so we went to bed early.  We were lucky in that we had gotten back into the pacific time zone so that gives us an extra hour.  Tomorrow we will finally be home after our long journey.

Home

Today is the last day of our journey, tonight we will be sleeping in our own bed.  We were up by 6:00, but evidently things hadn’t gone well in the night and we were behind schedule instead of early; oh well, such is life on the train.  No breakfast this morning as they closed the dining car very early so we sat in our room and watched the countryside go by as we made our way to Los Angeles.

We arrived in LA only about 20 minutes late so we were happy as we had a two hour layover until our train north leaves.  We opted for Red Cap service today as Val is in the midst of a bad cold and I’m coming down with one.  The Red Cap loaded our luggage into his cart and whisked us away to the entrance to the Metropolitan Lounge.  Once inside we checked in and found a couple of comfortable seats to wait until our train home leaves.  They had muffins and juices available so we helped ourselves and made up for our lack of breakfast this morning.

We again found out the benefit of tipping the Red Cap well as the Red Cap who took us from the train to the lounge magically appeared and said they were getting ready to start boarding on our train.  He took us out the door, loaded our luggage on his cart, and we were brought to the Coast Starlight, which was the train we would take north; very nice service especially at the end of a long journey.  This is a short five hour trip, but we still opted to get a roomette as it is more comfortable and there are a few amenities that make it worthwhile.

The train was soon underway and we relaxed and read as the city of LA rolled by.  The Coast Starlight has a unique feature for sleeping car passengers that the other trains don’t have; the Parlor Car.  The Parlor Car is a combination bar, lounge and diner.  We opted to have our lunch in the Parlor Car and it was very good with much better service than we had on the Southwest Chief.  They announced they were showing a movie on the lower level of the Parlor Car, but we wouldn’t be on the train long enough to see it.

We rolled through the countryside north of LA and enjoyed the views of the Santa Barbara coast.  We were running right on time, but when we were within a half hour of home, we had to wait for another train to pass so we ended up being almost a half hour late.  We finally arrived in San Luis Obispo and were met by our good friend Doug who drove us home.  Thanks so much Doug.

It was great to be home, but we did find a few glitches.  I found that my car had been vandalized, which was very strange as we live in a bit of secluded area that doesn’t get much traffic.  It wasn’t too bad, but it will be a hassle.  After the police showed up and took my report, I went up to turn on my computer and my monitor gave a loud hum and would not work again.  I guess that’s what happens when you leave home for six weeks.  Oh well, it was a great trip, but it feels great to be home.

Voyage of the Vikings Cruise - Debarkation and Train to Chicago

Today we were up early as the ship arrived in Boston at 7:00 and we were scheduled to be one of the first groups off.  We had our last breakfast in the Neptune Lounge and said good-bye to concierges, Mervin and Celeste, and went back to the room to await the departure announcements.  There seemed to be a delay in clearing the ship so things were running behind schedule, but finally our number was called and we were off to the showroom to get a quick customs screening before departing the ship.

Whether it was the delay in clearing the ship, the terminal or some other circumstance, the debarkation was a bit chaotic as there were a lot of people getting off and the customs lines were winding through the baggage pickup area making it very difficult to claim our luggage.  I finally located our luggage and got in the customs lines which is usually a quick process, but because we had bought some cheese and tulip bulbs in Holland we had to get those cleared.  I thought they would just look at the cheese and bulbs, but they searched through all of our bags, which was very frustrating and time consuming.  The cheese and bulbs were declared OK, but they found some popcorn Val had bought in Canada and said it wasn’t allowed; who would have thought that popcorn was a problem?

After finally getting through customs, we got out of the terminal and found the Luggage Forward people who would be taking our two large bags and shipping them back to California.  We were very glad to give our bags to them and very grateful we wouldn’t have to be dragging them with us all the way home.  We headed for the cab line, which was pretty long by this time, but after a 20 minute wait we were on our way to Boston’s South Station where we would pick up our train to Chicago.  I should actually say we picked up our bus, as they are still doing track work so the train from Boston to Albany, New York was cancelled and we were bused instead.  We found out later that today was the last day for the bus so weren’t we lucky.

Boston has a very nice lounge for sleeper car passengers and we had an almost four hour wait until our bus left so we made ourselves comfortable.  They had water, juices, soft drinks and snacks with wi-fi, computer stations, work desks and printers making it a very easy wait.  I got my computer out and sat down at one of the desks and updated the blog while Val relaxed and read.  We wouldn’t be getting on the bus until around 1:00 so Val went out into the station food court and got us some sandwiches for lunch.  By the time we finished lunch it was time to board the bus and we were soon on our way.  We had noticed several couples from the ship in the lounge who were also taking the train and found one couple who was taking the same route we were to Los Angeles.

We did learn something today about tipping the Red Caps in the station.  When we arrived at the station we were looking for the lounge when a Red Cap asked us if we could use some help.  We told him we were looking for the passenger lounge and he led us right to it and helped us with our luggage.  I gave him a nice tip and thought nothing more about it, but when it was time for the bus to load he comes right back into the lounge and right to us.  He grabbed our luggage and escorted us to the bus, which was very helpful and needless to say we tipped him again as the walk to the bus had include a long set of stairs.

Not much to say about a five hour bus trip except to say we were very glad when it was over.  We pulled into the Albany train station around 6:00 and waited for about half an hour until it was time to board the Lake Shore Limited for our trip to Chicago.  This time we had reserved a full bedroom instead of the roomette like on our trip east, and we were very glad we did as it had much more room.  As soon as we got settled we headed to the dining car and ended up eating with one of the couples from the ship.  They live in Illinois so they were only going as far as Chicago, but we had a very nice conversation with them before heading back to our room.  We were both tired so we had our attendant make up the beds around 9:00 and called it a night.  After being on the ship for 35 days, our train dinner and bedroom were a far cry from what we were used to on the cruise, but I guess it’s time to get back in the real world.

Voyage of the Vikings Cruise - Cruise Day 35 - At Sea

Today is the worst day of the cruise – the last day.  Everything is winding down and we are faced with packing and getting everything ready to go.  We were up by 8:00 and after a quick breakfast in the Neptune Lounge, Val started packing and I updated the blog.  When our room attendants showed up to clean our room, Val went out on the balcony and I decided to do some walking.  I did three laps (1 mile) and then headed back to the room to start my own packing.

Packing to leave is the worst thing of the cruise; not only do you have to pack everything you brought with you; you have to pack all the additional things you’ve bought along the way.  After much shuffling and struggling, we finally got it all in.  It was time for lunch so we headed up to the Lido for lunch.  

Val decided not to go to trivia today so we had some time to kill and went down to the photo gallery to see who won the photo contest.  LT, who went with us on our tour in Isafjordur, Iceland won first prize in landscape for his waterfall picture; congratulations LT!  Val won runner up in the wildlife competition with her picture of the four-horned Manx Loaghtan sheep on the Isle of Man.  Congratulations to Val, it was a great picture and she deserved to win.

Val won runner up in the wildlife category.

LT won first place in the landscape category.

Next we went to the third round of the slot tournament where Val was in third place and I was in fourth place at the start of the day, but when we arrived we found that I had been bumped off the board and Val was down to the sixth and last spot.  We waited around for a while and then Val got bumped so neither one of us was on the board any longer.  We decided to give it another try, but we both fell far short so we didn’t qualify for the finals.  John, one of the people we play trivia with at the MIX in the evenings was still on the board so we stayed around and watched him compete in the finals, and he won!  It was his first try at a slot tournament and he now has $500 to show for it; congratulations John!

John gets paid after winning the slot tournament.

 

It was back to the room before dinner as things were winding down pretty quickly on our cruise.  After getting ready for dinner, we headed to the MIX for our final round of trivia before going to dinner.  Today was Mary Beth’s birthday so we joined our table together along with Richard’s and Glen’s and we all ate together.  It was a great meal and afterward Mary Beth was serenaded by the dinner stewards with the Indonesian birthday song.  It was a really fun evening with our new friends.   Here is a video of Mary Beth's birthday serenade.  The steward in the white jacket shaking hands with her at the end is our TJ, our great dining room steward.

Happy Birthday Mary Beth

We really enjoyed talking to Ken, Mary Beth, Richard and Glen every night and they really made our dinners fun.  After saying goodbye to our dinning stewards, TJ and Bonny, we were off to the casino for our final night.  We both lost, but for the first time on a cruise I didn’t lose all of my money and actually brought some home with me.

After the casino is was back to the room for our final packing and then bed as we had to get up early tomorrow.  We have to put our large luggage out in the hall tonight, which we’ll pick in the terminal tomorrow after it goes through customs. Tomorrow when we wake up we’ll be in Boston and our cruise will be over.