Cruise 2001, Oct. 2, Last Day 33

Thursday, October 20, 2011, Flight Home, The Last Day 33

Goodbye Sydney Opera House

We had to have our luggage ready by 10 AM, be in the lobby at 11:30 for a noon departure. Our flight was at 3 PM.

We boarded the bus and got to the Sydney airport at about 12:30. We have finally found an airport worse than Las Vegas. Our bags were overweight and after checking in we had to go the far end of the check in area to pay and get boarding passes. Then a long walk to customs and then a longer walk to our gate. At least Las Vegas has trams. It was 2 when we got to our gate, a half hour before our scheduled boarding time.

The airplane served a good lunch with hot entrees. The fight was 3 hours. I watched two movies.

Goodbye Sydney Harbor Bridge

We breezed through the airport in Auckland. This leg of our trip home was the long one. The 777 is a huge aircraft, but it wasn't half full and the cabin attendants were very attentive. We watched movies, each seat had a separate system.. Supper was served, hot entrees and metal flatware. After supper we slept most of the rest of the trip. Before arriving in LA we watched another movie and we were served breakfast.  Gerri wasn’t too happy about being served pork n beans with scrambled eggs. We were through Immigration, Customs and security and at our final gate at a little after 4 PM for the last leg of our journey.

It seems amazing that we left Australia on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 3 PM and arrived home at about 7:00 PM on the same date. We lost a day going over the International Date Line on the cruise and got it back on the flight home.

This was a great trip. We saw a lot of new places, met new friends and generally had a great time.

I plan to go back over some of the blogs for this trip and add pictures. Gerri will also be posting pictures to her Facebook page.

2011 Cruise, Oct. 19, Sydney, Day 32

Wednesday, October 19, 2011, Sydney, Day 32

We slept in until 8. This was our last Day in Sydney, at least that doesn't involve getting ready to travel and traveling. We plan to meet two other couples from the ship for dinner tonight.
I went to a nearby Starbucks where we found 24 hours of internet access for $6 AU, instead of $25 AU at the hotel. I posted the blog and my caching finds and retrieved my e-mail. After I got back to the hotel, Gerri and I went back to the Starbucks and she got her e-mail.

We had lunch at a restaurant on the Circular Quay and then did some more shopping. Gerri looked at some opals, but I got lucky the nice ones were too expensive. While walking around we looked for a couple of caches, no luck.
We met Tim, Beth, Nina and Bob at the Marriott and then had supper at an Italian Restaurant, Alfredo's, across the street from the Marriott. A great meal and it was good to get together with our friends from the ship, however, first Italian restaurant we went to that didn't have meatballs. We are planning to get together again in Las Vegas next March.
Back at the hotel we read a little and Gerri did more Sudoku before bedtime.

2011 Cruise, Day 29-31

Sunday, October 16, 2011, Last Day At Sea, Day 29


Ship's position S37°12.18' E156°15.63'.

A lot of today was spent getting ready to disembark. We had to get suitcases out right after supper.

Gerri went to a towel folding demonstration and I picked up pictures that we had printed of our table party.

We had lunch in the dining room with, Tim, Beth, Mike and Brenda. After lunch we watched an egg drop contest. Passengers built something around an egg and the egg with packaging was dropped two floors in the atrium. Most of the eggs survived the drop, there were several very clever ways of protecting the eggs during the drop.

After doing some of our packing we went to see a passenger talent show. It was very good, there is a lot of talent on board.

At supper we said our goodbyes. Listened to Sammy for awhile. We then went back to the cabin and packed another bag. Our other two bags will go with us, Valuables, computers, camera and medicine.

Ship's position S34°49.03' S152°47.43'.



Monday, October 17, 2011, Sydney, Day 30

We arrived at Sydney before dawn. Our departure time was 7:30. We got our bags and went trough customs and then onto our tour bus. We toured the City including the Sydney Opera House and then were dropped off at the Four Seasons Hotel. After check in and our bags were delivered, I checked out the internet system in the hotel. It was $25.00 for 24 hours. Way too much for our needs, shades of Cabo. Paying by 24 hour periods is worse than the per minute charge. At least by the minute you aren't paying while asleep or during other activities.

I went out to see if I could find a cache or two. Caching between the buildings is like caching in a slot canyon. I found one cache I could almost see from our room, and picked up two travel bugs. I looked for another by the 5 quays a couple of blocks from the hotel, No luck.

I bought fish and chips and took them back to the hotel, Gerri said she wasn't going out.

After eating I went back out trying to find caches. I found the park described in the cache description. The description said the cache was within ten yards of the obelisk in the park. I didn't find this one either. I went back down to the quay area and located the information on a virtual cache.

Back at the hotel, we watched some TV, tried Sudoku puzzles and read until bedtime. We have an all day tour to the Blue Mountains tomorrow morning.



Tuesday, October 18, 2011, Sydney, Day 31

Up early for our Blue Mountain tour. The tour started at 9, it repeated some of the sights we saw on the city tour yesterday. Our first stop was a wildlife park. At the park we saw all kinds of animals and birds that live in Australia; Grey Kangaroos, Swamp Wallabies, Red-Necked Wallabies, Wombats, Echindas, Wallaroos, Koalas, Emus, Pea Fowl, Black Cockatoos, White Cockatoos, Dingos, Budgerigars, Cassowaries, Galahs, Possums and a variety of small and medium sized birds. We also saw another sheep shearing demonstration, this one had more information than the one we saw in New Zealand. Here was also a demonstration throwing boomerangs. Boomerangs had different uses. Some were for actually killing game and others were used to scare up and run game toward the hunters.

Our next stop was the Blue Mountains and a visit to a rainforest area. We rode a cable car down and walked through the area. There used to be coal mines in the area and there was a funicular railroad that used to take coal to the top. We rode the rail car up and had lunch at the revolving restaurant.

On the way back to Sydney we stopped at the area where the 2000 Olympics were held.

Back at the hotel We walked down to the Circular Quay and took pictures of the Opera House across the bay. We also bought souvenirs and postcards.

Back in our room, we relaxed. It is doubtful we will be going out again. With the late lunch we may not have supper, we aren't on the ship now. Some TV, reading and Sudoku and we called it a night.

2011 Cruise, Days 27-28

Friday, October 14, 2011, At Sea in Fiordlands National Park, Day 27


Ship's position S45°56.60' E166°20.81'.

This morning we were almost as far north as when we left Dunedin. During the night we rounded the southern end of the South Island and turned northward along the west coast of New Zealand.

Our first Fiord was Dusky Sound. There was a Park Ranger was on board and provided narration during the passage through all the Fiords. It was cloudy during our trip through Dusty Sound, and cold. We were close to the land but due to the overcast the landscape was not very bright. It was too cold to stay out on the balcony for very long. Looks like Alaska, including snow on the upper elevations.

We sat with Tim and Beth in the Wheelhouse lounge and went out onto the deck periodically to see the sights as we went through the Fiords. The last one, Millford Sound, was spectacular. There were several waterfalls that came from the high cliffs directly into the water. In this fiord the ship stopped and let the park ranger off and picked up some passengers that had taken an overland tour from Dunedin. The ship turned to exit the fiord, unlike the others which were connected to other fiords.

We had pizza in the Cornish Restaurant and then had desert with Mike and Brenda in the dinning room.

After awhile listening to Sammy we retired to our cabin. I spent a few minutes on the daily sudoku puzzle but it had me stumped..

Ship's position S43°57.04' E166°44.78'.



Saturday, October 15, 2011, At Sea, Day 28

Ship's position S41°51.76' E163°21.39'.

We spent much of the morning waiting in line to have our passports checked by Australian Immigration.

After the passport ordeal we went to a presentation that introduced the stage performers. The introductions there was a question and answer session.

For the first time we had lunch in the dining room.

I got a copy of our ship account and checked the charges against the receipts. I also signed up for express checkout. Our time for disembarkation is 7:30 in the morning. We have a Sydney city tour before going to our hotel.

We picked out the photos we wanted to buy from the trip and also got a memories album. We have to go on line and upload our own pictures into the album. The album has stock pictures that we either leave or replace with our own. We can also change the stock text. It may be a lot of work but will be a personalized memento of our cruise.

Today was the final performance of the passenger pop choir featuring Beth from our table. After that performance Gerri had her last facial message.

Tonight was the last formal night. The main entree for dinner was lobster served with jumbo prawns. This was probably the best dinner we had. .Gerri had told the staff I was celebrating a birthday. That meant singing and a special piece of chocolate cake.

Our table and head waiter

Ship's position S39° 16.24' E159°21.36

2011 Cruise, Days 24-26

Tuesday, October 11, 2011, At Sea, Day 24


Ship's position S38 °54'94' E178°26.16'. The sea is rough and was a cloudy rainy day.

We had a late lunch after spending most of our morning in the cabin. We went to the library for computer access but it was still very slow.

Gerri went to a show, British Invasion, in the theater. We had a late supper in the Horizon Court.

I didn't get the ships position before going to bed.



Wednesday, October 12, Day, Akaroa, NZ, Day 25

S43°49.32' E172°55.30'

We didn't sign up for any shore activities. Our plan today was to go ashore and wonder around. From our balcony the harbor entrance looked small. The surrounding hills are green with scattered trees. I couldn't see the town, only a few scattered groups of buildings. We should see more as the ship turns on anchor.

We met Tim and Beth at 10 and went ashore for a day of shopping. Akaroa is about 85 miles from Christchurch. Christchurch was our original port of call, but it was switched after a large earthquake caused a lot of damage to tourist spots there. Akaroa is on a peninsula and the harbor has a very narrow entrance, and is well protected.

The town itself is very well groomed and clean, the surrounding hills are covered with very green grass. We had read about some thing called hokey pokey ice cream. I ask Luke, the Jr. Assistant Cruise Director, what it was. He is originally from New Zealand, He told me it was a vanilla ice cream with honey nougats in it, a must try. We tried it. It was good ice cream but I could have done without the extra sweetness that the honey balls gave it. After walking around the main street for awhile we went up a street to a cache named Cache Much? I was located on a street named Rue Cachalot. An easy find. The street is named after a ship that brought some early French settlers to the area. The rest of the group headed back down the hill, I went along a side street toward another cache at the French Cemetery. It was quite a climb and then a down hill to the cache. I did two here at Akaroa, my 3rd and 4th caches in New Zealand.

We had a lunch of fish and chips in the downtown area. Gerri and Beth did some more shopping, Tim and I headed back to the ship.

It started to cloud up so the sail away wasn't very scenic. We did stay on deck for the sail away and then went to get ready for supper.

The ship's position at bedtime was S44°30.20' E172°14.75'. This was another very beautiful port of call.

I called Dana to see what was going on with my Mom. She took my Mom to a couple of doctors, nothing definitive yet. Dr. Wirtz thinks she may have congestive heart failure and possibly lung cancer. Dana had recalled the doctor today and no results were in. Todd and Jeannette want Glenna to come visit them this coming weekend, they are celebrating both Emma and Wyatt's birthdays. My first reaction was no, since if she had any problems it would involve a new set of doctors. After considering that Dr. Wirtz thought she was up to the trip, some conflict between Barbara and Dana over care, and the fear that there may not be too many more opportunities or Glenna to visit them, I agreed to the trip. Todd is going to meet Dana halfway on Friday and then do the same thing on the 19th to get Glenna back to Las Vegas for a doctor appointment. We can only pray that all this works out for the best.



Thursday, October 13, 2011, Dunedin, NZ, Day 26

S45°48.75' E170°37.58.'.

We actually docked at Port Chalmers, about a 6 mile 30 minute bus ride from Dunedin.

Before leaving home I had downloaded caches near our ports of call. As with Auckland and others, I had only information from maps to determine the Lat Lons of my search. In Auckland I was about 5 miles off, with Dunedin I was about six miles off from where the ship docked.

We took a shuttle to town. We walked around the Octagon, like a town plaza, and visited a few shops. I forgot to put the SD card back in Gerri's camera when I downloaded pictures this morning. I stopped at a camera shop and bought a new card. About half an hour later it occurred to me that I could have taken the one out of my GPS and save the money. Gerri bought some souvenirs and a Wool and Possum vest. I found two geocaches in the downtown area. Easy peasy mini caches.

We had lunch and then caught the shuttle back to the ship. We had a delicious meat pie with fries.

Chores pile up, so Gerri did some laundry. She figured it wouldn't be as busy today as when we are at sea.

Since Port Chalmers was so close, I went to the library to see if there were any nearby caches. I downloaded four and headed back out. I picked the tough one first. The name should have been a hint, Resting on a hill. It took some time to walk up the hill. I tried another on the way back to the ship but didn't find it.

I took some pictures from our balcony during the sail away, it had turned cloudy, cool and breezy. After that we got ready for supper. Today was Beth's birthday, so there was a special cake and of course singing.

After supper we listened to Sammy Goldstein until he took a break.

Ship's position S46°28.05' E170°14.04'.

2011 Cruise, Days 21,22 & 23

Saturday, October 8, 2011, At Sea, Day 21


Ship's position S22°59.44' E177°.

A lazy day at sea. Breakfast in our cabin, reading and Sudoku. Gerri had her 4th facial and then we had lunch at the Horizon Court. After all that effort we sat on the deck near the pool until we got too cold.

This was another formal evening. After dressing we had a few pictures taken with a couple of backgrounds we hadn't seen before. If we buy all the pictures they take it would probably double the price of the cruise.

Before supper we met Tim and Beth in the Wheelhouse Lounge and listened to the band Elements play for about a half hour'

After supper we went to a show in the Vista Lounge. I was skeptical at the name of the act; The Magic of Mime and Mask. It was pretty good, especially when he got to the hand shadows part of the act. He went way beyond a dog, a rabbit and an eagle.

It was late when the show finished and we had to set our time forward.

I noticed that I didn't get the minutes for the morning ship's position and I didn't get the evening because I was too tired.



Sunday, October 9, 2011, At Sea, Day 22

Ship's position S50°0.28' E175°50.46'.

We didn't order breakfast this morning and slept in. We got to the Horizon Court and got breakfast just before the switch over to lunch.

After lunch we sat near the pool and did the daily Sudoku puzzle and read. The sunshine was intermittent and overall it was cool but comfortable in the sun.

Tim and I went to a presentation by the Chief Engineer on the systems that run the ship. It covered propulsion, air conditioning, electrical, air conditioning, desalination and purifying water. The size output and capacities numbers were staggering. For example the engines that produce the electricity to drive the ship are 16 cylinder turbo diesels producing 14,500 hp each, there are four. Each one weighs 107 tons. Fuel consumption is measured by the ton and the fuel for the trip from San Francisco to Sydney costs 2.5 million dollars.

We went to a show before supper. It was song and dance with a country western theme which we all agreed the show was one of the best so far on the cruise.

After supper we retired to our cabin. We arrive in Auckland tomorrow morning and have scheduled a tour that meets in the theater at 8:15 AM.

The ship's position is S34°43.36' E175°9.84'.



Monday, October 10, 2011, Auckland, NZ, Day23

When our coffee came at 6:35 we were already in port.. Our tour started with a meeting at 8:15 in the Princess Theater. We waited there for about an hour before the bus was ready to load. We drove about 45 minutes to a bird sanctuary named The Gannet Colony. It's along the north coast. Thousands of sea birds covering very flat protected spot. After that we visited a small farm. They had refreshments on our arrival. They presented a sheep shearing demonstrations and showed how sheep dogs work a group of sheep. We had lunch at the farm before heading back to the ship. It was a cold windy day but a great one in a beautiful place.

I had downloaded 100 geocaches in Auckland but used the wrong starting coordinates, so the closest cache was about 5 miles away. While the others shopped I went back to the ship and got the location of two caches. I DNF'd the first and found the second. I returned to the ship. Gerri was already back resting up.

It was raining when we left port. Land was visible off the port side with rain between us and the land.

After supper we went to the Princess Theater and watched the Crew Talent Show which we got lots of laughs, so another great show.

Ship's position S36°27.75' E170°0.72'.

2011 Cruise, Oct. 7, Day 20

Friday, October 7, 2011, Suva, Fiji, Day 20


We arrived in the port of Suva, Fiji and were alongside the dock at 7:45 AM. The port all looks very industrial and there were a lot of shipping containers.

We hadn't planned any activities besides looking around and hopefully a cache or two.

The area around the dock seemed to be more geared to locals wanting produce and other grocery items. We walked around for awhile and then went back to the dock. I negotiated with one of the tour operators to have a taxi drive me to the nearest cache. In a straight line the cache was about 24 miles as the crow flies. It turned out to be a 63 mile round trip. It rained all the way to the cache and back, sometimes very heavily. All the water running across and along the sides of the road reminded me of Las Vegas during our thunderstorms. Suva gets about 200 inches of rain per year. My driver, Roderick, got a big kick out of my explanation of geocaching. When we got to the area of the cache the workers near the site knew what I was looking for. Roderick had a good time explaining geocaching to them in more detail. I think the consensus among the three was that I was another crazy American. While I was looking for the cache Gerri stayed and got directions to a flea market close to the ship where she could look for locally made items.

We had supper with Tim and Beth at the restaurant on deck 8 where we had pizza and lasagna.

We went to a ventriloquist show in the Princess Theater, Sara Jones and 3 or 4 puppets, Very good.

Ship's position at bedtime was S19°24.88' W177°48.31'. The sea is rougher tonight than any other time during this trip.

2011 Cuise, Day 19

Thursday, October 6, 2011, At Sea, Day19


Because we crossed the international date line we didn't have a Wednesday October 5th. So we didn't really miss Brandon's birthday.

Ship's position S16°8.88' W175°23.96'.

We had coffee in our cabin and later went for breakfast at the Horizon Court. After that we sat on the deck. There was a contest between six teams that had built boats from different articles of trash.

We had hotdogs for lunch from the Riviera Grill.

More suiting on the deck and then back to the cabin to clean up before supper.

After supper we went to a ten o'clock comedy show, and then back to our Cabin'

Ship's position S18°9.82' W179°27.82'.

Cruise 2011, Days 16-17-18

Sunday, October 2, 2011, At Sea, Day 16
Ship's position S15°53.43' W156°44.81', speed 17.2 knots.
After breakfast Gerri went for her facial. Then we met on deck and read for awhile and had lunch.
On TV the past couple of days I have watched the Wall Street protests. My thoughts were that they were a bunch of idiots that had no idea what they were protesting about. Today while we were on deck the song “The Age of Aquarius” played. It was actually very encouraging. It reminded me of another group of know nothing idiots that this country survived. Unfortunately I don't have the same optimism about surviving the current regime, which knows what is doing and is intent on destroying this once great country.
We then went for Carpet Bowl, the women beat the men 27 to 20.
Back to the cabin to read and then get ready for the Captain's Circle members. This is our third formal night. We are at the Gold Level and need to have five more days cruising with Princess to reach the Platinum Level. The ultimate level is Elite. Each level brings a few more perks than the one before. The captain spoke for quite awhile, he was very funny.After supper we went to see a comedian in the Vista Court. The Captain was funnier than the comedian.
We were in bed by midnight.
Ship's position S15°27.92' W16112.09'.


Monday, October 3, 2011, At Sea, Day 17
Ship's position S15°12.14 W163°59.08'.
We were really sleeping when our breakfast arrived.
Today was laundry day. We went to deck 11 because that laundry room wasn't as busy as our deck 9. Still with the wait, time for running the machines and folding it took until 1:30 to finish. The way we planned, we shouldn't have to do laundry again until we get home.
We checked out the pictures, Gerri has weeded out a lot that she doesn't want, but there are still a lot in the maybe pile.
After supper we went to Sammy Goldstein's singalong. I was tired and didn't stay long and went to the cabin, Gerri stayed to singalong.
Ship's position S14°48.29' W165°8.85'.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011, Pago Pago, American Samoa, Day 18
We were at dockside in Pago Pago by 7:30 AM. From our cabin and beyond the dock area the island looks very plush. We had no specific plans for the day. I checked caches available in the area. There are three but all have DNFs, none have been found this year. I may go to one of the areas and log my mileage.
There was the normal shopping stands by the ship dock. After going through those we walked around the town. Eventually we arrived at a recommended restaurant, Sadie's by the Sea, and had lunch. We had a famous Somoan dish, Wahoo fish and chips and onion rings.
By this time every one was hot and tired. I parted company with the group to try and find a cache that showed .89 miles away. It had been placed in June and only had one note, a DNF in July. I caught a bus to the trail head and walked a mile up a trail to a WWII gun emplacement. By the time I got to the top I was missing my Jeep very badly. The cache was an easy find, exactly as the description and hint instructed. It was a real bonus to have my first and probably only cache in American Samoa to be an FTF. When I went to sign the log, I found I had lost my pen. To show I had been there I tore a small notch on each end of the first line on the log. I also left one of my cards and took a good luck coin.
Back down the trail and onto a bus to the ship I had traveled 2.55 miles, each way, it cost me $2 for bus fare and 50¢ for a bottle of water. By far the cheapest find thus far on the cruise. By the time I got back to the ship I was steaming and took as cold a shower as the water would allow.
We sat on deck and then went up and forward as we left the harbor. We are heading further south west. Some time tonight we cross the International Date Line. We wont have a Wednesday, October 5, 2011. When we cross the line it will be Thursday the 6th.
We had supper at the Horizon Court, featuring German food for October Fest.
The ship's position at bedtime was S14°34.29' W171°8.93'.

2011 Cruise, Oct. 1, 2011 Day 15

Saturday, October 1, 2011, Bora Bora, Day 15


We arrived off Bora Bora at about 7 AM and were anchored with tenders shuttling passengers to shore. The last tender from shore is scheduled at 3:30, so it's a short day here at Bora Bora.

I didn't put anything in the blog about it, but last week my mother, Glenna, had a fever and Barbara and Dana took her to Quick Care. She was admitted to Spring Valley Hospital with the beginning of Pneumonia. Good news today. She is being released to go home.



With Tim, Beth and our head waiter Victor.

We started our day with a light breakfast and went ashore with Tim and Beth. We were anchored in Vaitape Bay and went to a white sand beach about 10 miles away, Matira Point. The water was crystal clear and shallow for at least half a mile from the beach. There was a cache at the restaurant we planned to go to later. My GPSR battery went dead and the spare I brought was also dead. The nearby gift shop didn't have AA batteries. I walked about ¾ miles to a store and bought some. Then I found that I somehow had erased the cache.
We stopped at Bloody Mary's on the way back to the ship and met Bill and Sherry. Gerri bought a t-shirt and I ask the clerk if he knew about a nearby geocache, he didn't.

We got back to the tender dock, I decided to go to the ship and get information on the cache, the others stayed ashore to shop. Armed with the coordinates, the cache description and hint, I took the shuttle back to the restaurant and looked for the cache. From the description I was in the right area but didn't find the described cache. And, I hate DNFs, especially ones that I pay money to get to.

When we got back to the tender dock, I decided to go to the ship and get information on the cache, the others stayed ashore to shop. Armed with the coordinates, the cache description and hint, I took the shuttle back to the restaurant and looked for the cache. From the description I was in the right area but didn't find the described cache. And, I hate DNFs, especially ones that I pay money to get to.

Back at the ship I got back together with Gerri and we had a late lunch. We looked out at Bora Bora and agreed that it was the most beautiful place we had visited so far. Too bad we weren't here longer. Either or both the stops in Moorea and Tahiti could be shortened or eliminated in favor of more time on Bora Bora. I took several pictures of the island and harbor from the deck above the bridge. Gerri, Tim and Beth joined me during the sail away.

I hope that our pictures do the area justice. Where the ship was anchored the water was the deep blue I usually associate with deep water. When the anchor was weighed and the thrusters working, sand was stirred up. Looking out around the ship as we left we could see several small Islands and the different colors of blue indicating several different depths. The colors run from the dark blue through turquoise all the way to almost seeing the pure white of the sand through the crystal clear water. In several places we could see out to the reef that surrounds the island. The surf breaks on the reef and is sometimes quite high and in some places the reef can be seen above the water level. As we left the harbor the wind was from behind us at about 30 mph, water was spraying west in a mist from the top of the surf and waves.

The reef that protects the harbor has a very narrow and shallow opening. According to the Captain the channel only allows a meter of clearance below the hull.

After the sail away we went back to the cabin to clean up and rest up for supper.

We sailed west into the setting sun. Tomorrow we are at sea. I forgot to get the ship's position.

2011 Cruise, Day 14

Friday, September 30, Papeete, Day 14 We are in port at Papeete until early this evening. The caches on Moorea all indicted problems, I hope to get one here on Tahiti.

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Sunset over Moorea



We hadn't planned any tours in Papeete. We went ashore at about 10 AM for shopping. Before leaving the ship we bought post cards to send to family. Gerri and Beth both bought black pearl earrings. We also bought small gifts for the grand kids. Every body else decided to go back to the ship for lunch. I got a taxi to take me to the nearest cache. It was 7.3 miles as the crow flies, but as the taxi drives it was about 12 miles on the other side of the island. Once in the area the cache was easy, it was a virtual cache so I got the $ information and went back to the ship.

We had lunch on deck and stayed there until the ship sailed, Tim and I took pictures of the sun setting over Moorea.

We took supper at our table in the Traviata dining room.



We are scheduled to arrive in Bora Bora at 7 AM, and plan to go to the beach and then to a restaurant called Bloody Mary's. It's named after a character in the Movie South Pacific.



Cruise 2011, Days 11-12-13

Tuesday, September 27, 2011, At Sea, Day 11

Ship's position S4°8.13' W152°19.26', speed 18 knots.

Our morning pattern continues, continental breakfast in our cabin, reading and Sudoku puzzles and to the library to pickup today's puzzles and enter our trivia answers. The trivia question is part of the Wake show which we watch every morning. It stars the Cruise Director and his assistant with an occasional guest.

The show recaps the previous days activities, gives the names of the passengers that got the daily trivia question correct and previews the coming days activities. The show is very amateurish but entertaining partly because of that.

We went on deck in the late morning and stayed till mid after noon. We had lunch from the Horizon Court.

Back at the cabin we relaxed some more before supper.

After supper we went to the Vista Lounge and saw Sammy Goldstein singing show tunes.

At bed time the ship's position was S8°55.94' W169°4', speed 16.4 knots.



Wednesday, September 28, 2011, At Sea, Day 12

Ship's position S11°30.26' W150°57.51'

Today was the first time our breakfast arrived between 8:30 and 9 o'clock as we have specified.

Today's trivia question was; what is the longest word that can be typed using only the to row of letters on a standard keyboard? Typewriter?

Gerri checked on our Moorea tour and was able to sell it to another passenger. We will explore by ourselves and then go shopping with Tim and Beth,

We went to a tee short sale and got two shirts for $20.00. We also went by the Internet Cafe and had them check out my notebook, hoping to get better reception. In the cafe we got 5 bars and when we moved up to the Crooner's Lounge,I had 3 bars.

At three we met Bill and Sherry Hogue at the Crooner's Lounge. We originally met them at Lahaina. They are friends of Frank Leemans, who I worked with for years. Bill and Sherry don't use the internet. They are Elite members of the Captains Circle, we are Gold, as such they get 500 minutes of internet time free. Bill gave me the information so I can log on to his account and use his time. This will release some of the presurre on us for online time.

While we were visiting with Bill and Sherry, Tim and Beth came by and we introduced them. We all plan to meet when we get to Pago Pago.

After supper we stopped in the Crooner's Lounge and listened to Sammy Goldstein for awhile.

Tomorrow we anchor at Moorea.

The ship's position at bedtime was S15°10.60' W150°18.70', speed 16.6 knots.

2011 Cruise, Sept. 26, Day 10

Monday, September 26, 2011, At Sea, Day 10
Ship's position N2°50.16' W153°33.70', speed 17.6 knots.
We didn't have any plans for this morning. Later today the ship is having a crossing the Equator ceremony. We don't actually cross the Equator until 6:30 tonight.
I went on deck with my GPSR that was loaded with caches, some of which I hope to do. The nearest one in Moorea was over 1200 miles away.
We watched the crossing the equator ceremony. There were characters dressed up as Neptune and his court. Earlier at 9 the crew had taken volunteers to represent the passengers and stand trial before Neptune. The trials consisted of zany stunts and involved a lot of food being heaped on the participants who then had to kiss a fish. All the crew members who hadn't crossed the equator before were subjected to the same treatment. The participants were dunked in the pool to clean off. After that King Neptune gave his permission for the Sea Princess to safely cross the equator. Those who have never crossed the equator before are called pollywogs and those who have are called shellbacks. Tonight at supper we will all be shellbacks. Gerri bought me a 'Crossing the Equator” tee shirt. We may need another suitcase to get home from Sydney.

Tonight we had supper at a steakhouse with Tim, Beth, Bob and Nina. Mike and Brenda didn't join us, Brenda is a vegetarian. The supper was excellent and there was Creme Broule for dessert, although it had a raspberry flavor.
After supper we went out on deck hoping to see the night sky. There was too much ambient light from the ship to see more than the brightest stars.
At bedtime the ship's position was S1°13.70' W152°50.`2, ship's speed 19.2 knots.

2011 Cruise, Sept. 23-25, Days7-9

Friday, September 23, 2011, Lahaina, HI, Day 7
We arrived and anchored off Lahaina early this morning. We have now been away from Las Vegas for one week, three more to go.

From the ship we can see Maui, Lanai and Molokai. We took the tender ashore at about 10:30. We walked around Lahaina for awhile. I did one virtual cache near where the tender dropped us off. We were taking pictures and got a memory full message. I bought a 8 gig card at the ABC store. Shortly after that we started getting a low battery signal. Nothing I could do about that as the camera uses proprietary rechargeable batteries and the spare was on the ship.

We met Tim and Beth and Bob and Nina for lunch at the Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant. After that I tried to find a cache under the restaurant deck. After dodging a lot of waves and looking at what I thought were the most likely spots, and some that weren't so likely, I gave up. Man, I really don't like to log DNFs.
We were hot and tired and headed back to the ship. By the time we stood in line and the trip back to the ship we were even hotter.
Showers cooled us off and we spent the next several hours relaxing. As a matter of fact we relaxed the whole evening away watching the movie “From Here To Eternity.”
The ship's position this evening was N19°46.81' W156°39.68' speed 18.8 knots.
We will be at sea for five more days before reaching our next port of call at Moorea. French Polynesia.

Saturday, September 24, 2011, At Sea, Day Eight
Ships position N16°34.67' W156°3.52' Going southeast at 18 knots.
Continental breakfast in the cabin while trying to learn to solve Sudoku Puzzles. Sudoku Puzzles make my head hurt.
Gerri went to her second of five facial massages. I stayed in the room and finished my first Sudoku Puzzle.
We sat around the pool area reading and attempted to solve more Sudoku Puzzles and then went to lunch at the Horizon Court. After lunch we did more sitting around the pool area. With all that sitting around we had to go to our cabin and rest before getting cleaned up for our second formal night.
After supper we went to the Vista Lounge and saw an Australian comedian.
At bedtime the ships position was N12°25.94' W155°17.61', speed 17 knots.

Sunday, September 25, 2011, At Sea, Day Nine
Sips position N9°32.89' W154°46.84'
Guess what we did for breakfast. Last night we had formal pictures taken at six locations. There was a drawing for free pictures today, we weren't even standing close to the winner.
We set out by the pool and at 11:00 Gerri went to a lecture on pearls. I stayed in the pool area and finished another Sudoku Puzzle. I have to plod through all of the possibilities and use a process of elimination. I have no perception and still check the answers when I finish a line of three to reassure myself. I'm not sure I will ever be very good at these puzzles.
At 2 we went to Carpet Bowls, battle of the sexes. The game is similar to Bocci Ball. The balls are smaller than Bocci and are weighted on one side for curving rolls. Add a little rolling of the ship and it becomes very interesting. There were at least 25 couples and we bowled three rounds. The men won 40 to 35. Yesterday was a different story. We didn't bowl but were told the women won by one point.
After Carpet Bowls we went to High Tea. They serve excellent finger sandwiches. I don't think I ever had a cucumber sandwich before. They had lettuce and tomato on an Italian style bread.
At 4:45 we went to the Vista lounge to see a performance of the Sea Princess Pop Choir. The choir was made up of forty or so members of the guest constituency. They had practiced a couple times under the tutelage of three crew members. One of our table mates, Beth Burton, was a member of the choir. The singing and choreography were excellent. This choir got more applause than any other entertainment we have seen. Of course the audience was made up of spouses, family and new friends from the dining tables.
Back to the cabin to clean up and rest up before supper.
After supper we went to the 12th deck and saw part of the Grand Deck Party.
The ship's position tonight was N5°45.45' W154°4.90', speed 17.8 knots.

2011 Cruise, Sept. 21-22, Days 5-6

Wednesday September 21,2011, At Sea, Day Five

Our last day at sea before reaching Honolulu. The ship's position this morning was N23°55.41' W152°24.96'

Like previous days we started the day with continental breakfast in our cabin.

We lounged around the pool area and ate lunch from the Mexican buffet.

Time by the pool and reading was the order of the day.

We cleaned up and rested before going to supper. I went to the front of the ship and took sunset pictures.

At supper the wait staff sang Happy Birthday to Nina and Happy Anniversary to Gerri and I. Except for a few words both sounded the same. We were also served a special dessert.

The ships position this even was; N22°04.01 W156°07.03, speed 17.2 knots. Tomorrow we make our first port at 7 AM in Honolulu, HI.
Our plan is to spend most of the day on Waikiki Beach with Tim and Beth and have an early supper at Duke's. I also hope to do a geocache, my first in Hawaii.



Thursday, September 22, 2011, Honolulu, HI, Day six

Chillin on the beach at Waikiki

We arrived in Honolulu at 7 AM. It was still gray out. We met Tim and Beth at the Horizon Court for breakfast. We took a Taxi to Waikiki Beach and found a spot on the beach. We rented umbrellas and chaise lounges for the day. Even though the temperature was in the high 80's there were occasional breezes and clouds and it was comfortable.

I walked to Fort DeRussey and bagged a geocache, my first in Hawaii.

We had lunch at thr Shorebird Beach Broiler and lounged on the beach all afternoon.

We had supper at Duke's in the Outrigger Hotel. Very good.

After looking around downtown we caught a Taxi back to the ship. The day at the beach was great, but back in our cabin the shower felt very good.

Cruise 2011, Days 3-4, September 19-20

Monday September 19, 2011, Day Three, At Sea
Our position this morning was N32°40.98' W130°52.89'
Our second full day at sea started with breakfast in our stateroom. A person could be spoiled by not even having to get up and fix coffee.
We played BINGO at 11:30 in the Vista Lounge. We didn't win any games. The couple we sat next to won the fourth game, $400.00. We sat with them after the games and chatted. They were Frank and Gail from Melbourne, Australia. Very nice couple. They were on the Alaska part of the cruise before we boarded.
After BINGO Gerri went to the pool area and I read in the room. Later I was hungry, so I went to the High Tea.
Tonight was the first formal evening. We dressed and went to the Atrium area. We had our pictures taken at six different spots with different backgrounds. We listened to the Captains welcome speech and then went to supper. All of out table mates were there for the first time. It was Tim's birthday.

The song and dance show started at 9:45, So we missed dessert. We went to the show with Beth and Tim. They are from Scottsdale, AZ.
After the show we returned to our cabin and found that our waiter had send dessert to us.
Before retiring I finished reading my first book using my new Kindle.
I also set back the clock we are now two time zones west of home.
The ship's position at 11:30 was N29°02.13 W141°56.71' the sea has been very calm with very little movement of the ship.

Tuesday September 20, 2011, At Sea, Day Four
I was up at 8 AM, the new time we are now two hours earlier than Las Vegas. This morning was sunny but with low clouds in the distance. The sea was calm and our position was N27°27.59' W145°13.86'
We started the day with coffee and continental breakfast in our cabin.
Last evening we had pictures taken at several locations and each location signed a card. This morning a drawing was held, the winner had to be present, the prize was discounts on photos. I was standing behind the winner.
I took a turn around the promenade deck. I saw several schools of small flying fish. I also talked to two couples and took pictures for them on their camera looking over the stern of the ship.
Gerri had stayed in the cabin and watched Casa Blanca. After that we went to see the future cruise consultant and then check to see how many more days of cruising it would take to reach the platinum level. We need five more days. That level gives us more perks, including some free wifi. Gerri and I took a turn of the deck, we didn't see anymore of the flying fish.

We had hotdogs and a cheeseburger for lunch. The couple we sat with had sushi, so Gerri got us a sampling of that. We then sat by the pool for awhile reading. Then it was back to the cabin to rest and cleanup for supper.

We did spend some time trying to find the setting on Gerri's camera that would let the flash be on for every picture. No luck. I looked for the flash always on setting on my Nikon. The manual was a lot clearer on the topic. After finding the setting for constant flash on the Nikon, I was able to transfer the knowledge to Gerri's Canon. Overall Gerri's camera has more capability than mine.

After supper we went to a show featuring a hypnotist and capped off the night with a sing along in the Crooners Lounge with Sammy Goldstein.
Ships position was N25°13.06 W149°48.69, ship's speed 17.9 knots.

Cruise 2011, Days 1 & 2, 9/17-18

Saturday September 17, 2011, Day One, Leaving San Francisco
We were up at about 9 AM. I made coffee in the single service coffee maker in the room. The coffee tasted fine, but wasn't very hot.
I used Gerri's phone to check on nearby geocaches, it showed closer caches than my preloaded Geomate, Jr. I tried one a block from the hotel entrance but had the same problems as yesterday with the GPS when I got near the cache. I never found the cache.

At about 11 we went to the lobby and settled the bill. We then waited for time to get on the bus to the cruise ship dock. We were on board the Sea Princes before 1pm. After lunch we had a safety drill. The ship sailed at 3:30. We found a place on deck to watch and take pictures as we went past Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge.

After passing the Golden Gate we headed south west for Hawaii. The ship cruises at just under 25 knots.
Our supper seating is at 7:45 at a table for eight. We met 5 of our table mates. The supper was delicious with a lot of choices.
By 10:30 we were back at the cabin and ready for bed.
We haven't decided yet whether to purchase a wifi plan. My blogs will probably cover several days each and probably won't include pictures. We will post pictures later.
One of the TV channels runs a crawler with the ships position. When I started writing this blog our position was N37° 4.00 W124° 22.48.

Sunday September 18, 2011, Day Two, At Sea
After a long day yesterday we slept very well. The sea was only running about 1' waves so there was little motion on the ship.
We started the day with a continental breakfast delivered to our stateroom.

Our position at 9 AM was N35°16.40' W124° 16.40' I was noticeably warmer this morning on our balcony. We are on the port side of the ship. There were some clouds but the sunlight sparkled on the sea. No white caps in sight. There is a channel on the television that shows the view from the bow. Of course there is only sea to be seen. The same as the view from our balcony. This is the first time I have been out of sight of land.
Gerri made a reservation for a spa treatment this morning and came back feeling great after having a facial. We then signed up for the wifi service in our stateroom. We signed up for 500 minutes for $175.00. If we spread that over the entire trip, it comes down to 18 minutes a day. We hope that is enough time to collect e-mail and post this blog. No time for games and very little for Facebook.
After walking around the Promenade, Deck 7, it is the only deck that goes around the entire ship, we had lunch in the Horizon Court. We checked out some other areas of the ship and at 2pm we went to the pool area where Gerri laid out in the sun, reading her Kindle while watching and listening to a Paul McCartney concert on the huge movie screen which she said was like being at a live concert. I elected to sit in the shade in a regular chair and read my Kindle and since it was right by the ice cream stand enjoyed a vanilla cone. After the concert we headed to one of the dining rooms which was serving High Tea, our first time going to this type of activity. They served scones, tea sandwiches with a white-gloved service and of course, tea...very good. At 4pm we went to the Vista lounge and played a trivia game. Neither of us did very well, only getting half the answers right. After that it was back to the stateroom to rest awhile and get cleaned up for supper. Only two of the couples came to the table.
After supper we went to a show in the Vista lounge. The show was a standup comedian named George Casey. He had a lot of funny material.
Back to the stateroom we relaxed and it was almost midnight when we went to bed.

Looking out

Loking in

The ships position was N32° 54.59' W133° 40.98' just before we went to bed.

San Francisco, CA Friday September 16, 2011

Wow! It is finally here the day we start or 40th wedding anniversary celebratory cruise.  We were up at 5:30 AM so we could be at the airport at 7 for a 9 o'clock flight.

Back up a little.  We got home from our motor home trip on the 1st.  Since then we have been occupied with taking care of financial matters and doctor appointments.  Actually our two plus weeks at the house were more enjoyable than that.  We got a chance to catch up on and visit with the Las Vegas grandchildren.  We also were able to worship in person with our Church family at Oakey Boulevard.

After supper with Curtis and his family at the Lindo Michoacan  Mexican Restaurant, Gerri picked up Barbara Smith who is staying with Glenna while we are on the cruise.  Barbara is Gerri's brother's sister-in-law, she has stayed with Glenna in the past when we went to Mexico.

I digress.   We had finished most of our packing last night.    We were loaded up and ready for Barbara to take us to the airport by 6:30.  Barbara got her first shot at driving the Lincoln by driving us to McCarran Int. Airport.  A challenge for someone familiar with the airport and the car they are driving.  We did the curb side check in and stopped before going to the gate to finish our coffee.  We proceeded to the D gates and were quickly reminded of why we like motor home traveling.  The line to go through security was very long.  Off with belt, shoes, empty pockets and lay out lap tops.  Then put it all back.   We may have been late for the flight except for a weather delay in San Francisco, imagine there was fog in the bay area.  The flight was uneventful, smooth take off, flight and landing.  After landing we were deplaned at the international terminal instead of the domestic terminal.  We waited until people trying to make connections were off the airplane.  We got to the baggage area and were met by an agent of Princess Cruises.  She had arraigned our transportation to the Mark Hopkins International Hotel.  After checking in we were shown to our room.  I don't think we have ever stayed in a hotel room with a doorbell.  The doorbell could be turned off and lights up a do not disturb light by the door.  We relaxed for awhile and then went for lunch at the famous Top of the Mark. 

After lunch Gerri took a nap and I fired up the Geomate Jr. and went to look for a nearby cache.  As it turns out I should have used Gerri's phone.  I didn't find the cache, these tall buildings play havoc with GPS receivers.  I walked over a mile and a half and never found the cache.  Gerri's phone showed a cache within .12 miles of the hotel.  I may try it in the morning.

Since we had a big lunch we waited until about 9 and ordered a pizza from room service.

Tomorrow we board the ship.

Las Vegas, NV Thursday September 1, 2011

I got up at 7 and made coffee.  Gerri was awake and ask what time I wanted to leave.  I told her 9, after I do a couple of caches.  I unhooked the Jeep and did a cache on the north side of I-40 at the same exit as the RV Park.  The second was off the next exit west, Two Guns, AZ.  There is nothing there except an abandoned gas station and a lot of ruins left over from the heyday of Route 66.  The cache was right on the edge of Canyon Diablo.  This cache makes 94 I have done on this trip, June 17-Sept. 1.  Although not large by any standard, Canyon Diablo was a formidable obstruction to east west travel until a bridge was built.  When we got on the road with the motor home it was interesting to note that the next canyon west was named Padre Canyon.
We were on the road by 9 AM.  The trip was uneventful except for the wind.  At Seligman I decided to get off I-40 and continue to Kingman on old US 66.  The old highway is much smoother than I-40.  Someone had put up several of the old Burma Shave series of signs, very entertaining.  The only problem taking this route is the stop and go traffic when arriving at Kingman.
We stopped in Kingman at the Cracker Barrel, opting for a heavy dinner and no supper tonight.
We got to the house at about 3:30 after driving a distance of 307 miles.
I plan to fuel up at Sam's before parking the coach at Bill and Elaine's.  We only unloaded the things we need tonight.
My next blog will be when we are on our anniversary cruise from San Francisco to Sidney, Australia.  I don't know what or if Internet access will be so they may be sporadic.

Meteor Crater RV Park, AZ, Wednesday August 31, 2011

We were up at 6 AM!!  Our plan was to meet Alan for breakfast at 7.  They are serving biscuits and gravy, all you can eat.  Having plenty of time Gerri and I showered since the sewer was still hooked up.  I had to turn the furnace on to take off the chill, it was 49 degrees.
I called Alan and picked him up in time to be in line for breakfast at 7.  There was no line, we were first.
After breakfast we went back to the coach to finish getting ready to travel.  While I was draining the sewer tanks and unhooking utilities, Alan was nice enough to clean our windshield.  I had swept the water off the slide awnings last night so I didn;t have to worry about getting a shower when Gerri brought the rooms in.  We had a little problems with the leveling jacks, the left front jack had sunk into some mud and didn't come up with the other three.  I turned every thing off and after it all reset the jack came up properly, we were ready to go.  After tearful goodbyes, at least I misted up, we pulled out.  I hooked up the Jeep by the grocery store and it was goodbye to Fun Valley.
Fun Valley is a wonderful place!  There is a lot to do in the park,  there are great people to meet and the area offers nearly unlimited opportunities to explore and enjoy the surrounding area.
As you may may remember our original plan was to return home via I-80.  After Joan's death we changed our plans to visit Alan in Fun Valley.  Last year Joan and Alan visited us in Great Falls while Glenna was in rehab after her hip replacement.  We were greatly comforted by their visit.  We are so glad we made the change in plans.  I don't fully know how or visit affected  Alan, but it was very edifying for us.  It is very inspiring to see the grace and strength that Alan has exhibited after this life changing tragedy.  I pray that I have such strength if faced with the lost of a loved one.
We pulled out at about 8:15 headed southwest on US 160.  We topped Wolf Creek Pass and I engaged the highest setting on the engine brake.  In the words of CW McCall;

"Well, from there on down it just wasn't real purdy: it was hairpin county and switchback city.
One of 'em looked like a can full'a worms; another one looked like malaria germs. Right in the middle of the whole damn show was a real nice tunnel, now wouldn't you know?
Wolf Creek Pass, way up on the Great Divide
Truckin' on down the other side
Wolf Creek Pass, way up onmorrow afternoon the Great Divide
Truckin' on down the other side."


It really wasn't that bad, with the engine brake on high, we never got over 30 mph.
Pagosa Springs didn't seem to offer much in the way of quick sightseeing, so we went through pretty quickly.  Thunder storms started after we turned south on US 550 towards Farmington.  Occasionally the rain was very heavy.  We had originally planned to spend the night in Shiprock.  Because of the time we went on to the Meteor Crater RV Park.
We will be back to Las Vegas tomorrow afternoon.
We got to the RV park at 4:15 PDT, Arizona is on Mountain Standard which is the same.  The coach and Jeep are unbeliably dirty.  Why doesn't rain wash off the dirt.
After relaxing, Gerri fixed supper and after TV and computer time we called it a night.

Fun Valley, CO, Tuesday August 30, 2011

I got up at about 7:15 thinking today was all you can eat biscuits and gravy for breakfast.  I was wrong, that is tomorrow.  I finished up some computer time.

West from our site

South Fork of the Rio Grande, It runs through the Fun Valley Resort

After Gerri got up I drove around the park and took pictures, since this was our last full day at Fun Valley.
Lunch today was an all you can eat Taco Bar.  Gerri, Alan and I went.  Another great meal at Fun Valley.

South Fork of the Rio Grande

Cabins along the South Fork of theRio Grande 

Looking east behind the restaurant,

A Fun Valley pond

A fixer upper in the mountains

After lunch and before the afternoon rain, Alan and I headed out to the SW on Us-160 and turned into the hills.  We drove about 40 miles through the hills and ended up in Del Norte about 16 mikes east of South Fork.  We looked for a cache in Del Norte but it seemed to be missing.  We looked for another cache on the way back to South Fork, again no luck.
Once back in South Fork I checked for nearby caches on Gerri's phone.  It was a quick find near the town hall.
We got back to Fun Valley during one of the afternoon downpours. We visited with Alan for awhile before he had to go and take care of business.
We decided against going to supper, still full of Tacos.
I picked up our patio carpet, cleaned it up and put it away.  I even went up on the roof to sweep the water off the slide out awnings.  A little later I went to the office and settled up the bill for our stay at Fun Valley.  The bill as not just for our site rental but included meals and gift shop purchases.  All we have to do in the morning is unhook from utilities and hook up the Jeep before we leave.

Fun Valley, Sunday August 28, 2011

After some computer time I went to church in South Fork.
Before going back to Fun Valley I did a cache, got gas for the Jeep and picked up a couple of items at a local market.

Alan at Lobo Overlook

Wolf Creek Pass, from Lobo Overlook

A view coming back to Wolf Creek Pass From Lobo Overlook

Shortly after I got back our afternoon thunder storm started.  We had lunch at Fun Valley and then Alan and I went for a drive up to the Lobo Overlook.  The overlook is much higher than Fun Valley and it was cold.  The overlook give a good view of Wolf Creek Pass and the Wolf Creek Ski Area.  We drove down a ways toward Pagosa Springs before turning around.









Near Wolf Creek Pass the Continental Divide Trail crosses the highway.  I stopped for pictures before returning to the Park.

The Continental Divide Trail near Wolf Creek Pass.

When I was young and in my prime, I dreamed of hiking this trail all the time.   Now that my legs are old and weak, I take pictures when I get a peek.
If you walk the way this picture faces you would eventually get to Mexico.  Turn around and it's off to Canada.  The trail covers over 3200 miles from Mexico to Canada.

It rained off and on during the afternoon and we pretty much hung around the coach.  We didn't go out to supper because of the big lunch we had earlier.