I am starting to get some things off the bucket list for the big trip - the hotel in Fort Lauderdale is booked and now that Amtrak dates have opened up I will be booking the rail to the Port of embarkation.
Recieved some travel info on FLL so now I have a better idea of where everything - the hotel is only about 1/2 mile to the port entrance but depending on just which berth we sail from I will either be able to walk to the ship or take a short cab ride.
The hotel is close to restaurants and grocery stores etc. It doesn't appear to be that far to the downtown core and the 17th St entertainment district - I have one full day in FLL - they have a low cost public shuttle bus that I will likely use to get around - there is also a water taxi service linking some of the sites as well but it appears to be $12.00 for a day pass vs $2.00 for the shuttle.
As for the trip itself - I have been finding and bookmarking many sites on the ports that I will be visiting and when on the big computer have been printing off some info.
Did book my first excursions - one of the cruisers has a short 3.5 hour private tour booked in Fortuleza - our first Brazilian stop so I have opted for it at this time.
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On the home front my next volunteer assignment is the Celtic Fest held in conjunction with St Patrick day - my orientation training will be Saturday - I will have a number of different jobs to do - being an office runner - helping with the setup of the Celtic village and finally on the Sunday the big parade - the nice thing about this assignment - it all happens within blocks of my condo so little or no travel is needed.
Cheers
D
Thursday, 1 March, 2012
Tuesday, 21 February, 2012
Travel plans - the South American cruise planner
Really haven't been posting much here but that is about to change - a year from now I will be on a long 49 cruise around South America starting in Fort Lauderdale Florida and ending up in San Francisco.
I booked this trip more than six months ago but was on a wait list which I was able to bypass thanks to a computer savvy friend who realized that when Princess was updating their reservations they exposed those cabins to anyone online and I was lucky enough to be able to get a cabin booked.
As I don't fly this is one of the few opportunities to do South American by starting and finishing in North America - the Grand Princess is too big for the current Panama Canal so to get it to the west coast it will do the South America itinerary.
One week after I got the booking Carnival announced that they were moving a couple of ships and one of them is too big for the Canal - I spend several days procrastinating which one to take as they both had plus and minus points but decided to stay with Princess - a cruise line that I have cruised with twice before.
So now starts the long planning process and with overnight stops in both Rio and Lima lots of opportunities to see the sites.
Just how I will pay for the cruise I will discuss with my financial guy later in the year.
I will also need to renew my passport as it expires within six months of the trip. I will also have to get a visa for Brazil but luckily there is an office here.
There is a thriving group on the cruise critic website who have already organized a number of private excursions but most are fill - the ships list is only partial at this point - they will add more as the year goes on.
Got the hotel booked in Fort Lauderdale and are now just waiting for the Amtrak web site to let me book that part. Will just do the Vancouver to FLL part for now as I haven't decided whether to stay a day in SF at the end.
Have picked up a book on South America and one on Rio to help with my planning - have started a binder where I am putting useful info that I am gathering from the net.
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In other new I am keeping myself busy with daily walks or bike rides and visits to the Y - will be doing a volunteer stint with the Celtic Festival next month and then shortly after that - the training rides for the Vancouver Marathon which will be more fun this year as the course has been changed.
Cheers
D
I booked this trip more than six months ago but was on a wait list which I was able to bypass thanks to a computer savvy friend who realized that when Princess was updating their reservations they exposed those cabins to anyone online and I was lucky enough to be able to get a cabin booked.
As I don't fly this is one of the few opportunities to do South American by starting and finishing in North America - the Grand Princess is too big for the current Panama Canal so to get it to the west coast it will do the South America itinerary.
One week after I got the booking Carnival announced that they were moving a couple of ships and one of them is too big for the Canal - I spend several days procrastinating which one to take as they both had plus and minus points but decided to stay with Princess - a cruise line that I have cruised with twice before.
So now starts the long planning process and with overnight stops in both Rio and Lima lots of opportunities to see the sites.
Just how I will pay for the cruise I will discuss with my financial guy later in the year.
I will also need to renew my passport as it expires within six months of the trip. I will also have to get a visa for Brazil but luckily there is an office here.
There is a thriving group on the cruise critic website who have already organized a number of private excursions but most are fill - the ships list is only partial at this point - they will add more as the year goes on.
Got the hotel booked in Fort Lauderdale and are now just waiting for the Amtrak web site to let me book that part. Will just do the Vancouver to FLL part for now as I haven't decided whether to stay a day in SF at the end.
Have picked up a book on South America and one on Rio to help with my planning - have started a binder where I am putting useful info that I am gathering from the net.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In other new I am keeping myself busy with daily walks or bike rides and visits to the Y - will be doing a volunteer stint with the Celtic Festival next month and then shortly after that - the training rides for the Vancouver Marathon which will be more fun this year as the course has been changed.
Cheers
D
Wednesday, 28 December, 2011
Seasons Greetings
Haven't been too active on this blog recently so thought it was time to drop by and do a small update.
Cheers
D
Cheers
D
Monday, 16 May, 2011
Cruise ships galore May 14 2011
It was a busy day in downtown on Saturday as there were four ships in town - the Golden and Sapphire Princess and HAL Zuiderdamn at Canada Place and the Norwegian Star at Ballantyne Pier.
Norwegian Star a Ballantyne Pier as seen from the entrance to Canada Place
Golden Princess on the east side of Canada Place
Zuiderdamn on west side of Canada Place
The stern of the Sapphire Princess - it was a close fit for these two large vessels at Canada Place
The Sapphire Princess with Pan Pacific in background taken from the new Convention Center promenade
New Pink Bus service
Sapphire from north end of Hornby Street
View of both Princess ships and the City skyline from the promenade at Canada Place
Zuiderdamn at Canada Place.
Norwegian Star a Ballantyne Pier as seen from the entrance to Canada Place
Golden Princess on the east side of Canada Place
Zuiderdamn on west side of Canada Place
The stern of the Sapphire Princess - it was a close fit for these two large vessels at Canada Place
The Sapphire Princess with Pan Pacific in background taken from the new Convention Center promenade
Sapphire and both the Pan Pacific and Fairmont Waterfront hotel
New Pink Bus service
Sapphire from north end of Hornby Street
View of both Princess ships and the City skyline from the promenade at Canada Place
Zuiderdamn at Canada Place.
Saturday, 14 May, 2011
Assembling the new BBQ May 13, 2011
One of the items that has been on my bucket list for some time is a new BBQ and now that I have received my first pay cheque from the census work it was time to head to Walmart and get one - this particular model had been on sale some time ago and then went back up in price but yesterday it was back on sale.
Putting it together went okay for the most part until it came to the lid - couldn`t get the nut to fit through the hole but I was able to use some other screws and a wing bolt and that did the trick.
I started it up and my condo is still in one piece so I must have done everything right - eating out tonight but will fire it up tomorrow - also with a proper tank I won`t be running out of gas any time soon.
Tuesday, 3 May, 2011
Marathon Day May 1, 2011 - the Bike team in action
Sunday was the 40th Annual Vancouver Marathon and once again I found myself down at the course start a little after 5AM meeting up with some of the 30 + members of this year`s team - we do some short prep rides , go over our radio protocol and get ready to do our various tasks - while cool in the morning it was at least dry - the first group out at 6AM are the walkers and then an hour later the half Marathoners and finally at 7:30AM the full course runners - I am riding patrol which meant I follow the race around the course trying to ensure that there are no obstacles in the way of the runners - after completing the course I then start to work on the sweep team until break time at Milestone`s - then another hour or so getting the stragglers off the course by the 2PM deadline - only one or two didn`t make it. Then it is time to turn in the equipment - vests, radios etc and head for the volunteer where they are setting up a BBQ and some beer - I have a couple of hamburgers and one beer as I still have some Census work to do - It is a little bit of a bittersweet feeling this year in that our long time Captain Brian is retiring after 15 years at the helm and next year there will be a new course and many of us are interested in the route at this time. I was exhausted by the time I got home and more than a little sun tanned - it warmed up during the day which lead to an increase in the number of people who were cramping up and a run on water and refreshments - don`t know of any serious injuries.
For the complete photo story go to the following link on my facebook page.
Here are a few more images of the day - we were honored with finisher`s medals this year as a thank you for our work on race day - I ended up with some 70KM = 42 miles on the odometer by the time I got home.
Saturday, 30 April, 2011
Much ado about nothing post April 30, 2011
Not a lot of activity here on my blog but I have been busy
1. Once again this year I am a bike escort rider for the Vancouver Marathon but will only be a patrol rider and not a lead rider - this was partly my request due to other events you will see in the post below. Tomorrow is the Marathon and unlike last year the weather looks dry and sunny so the short will likely be the dress order of the day.
2. Monday is voting day and I will ask that all of you Canadians please take the time to go to the polls and vote for the candidate of your choice.
3. Normally I would post who to vote for or vote against but ______
4, I am now a fully trained crew leader - ie - supervisor for Stats Canada for the purpose of the Canadian census and thus I am unable to to politically active in any way so no thoughts on the current campaign etc.
5. The Canucks are now into the second round and I think this one will go 5 perhaps six at most as I feel that the Canucks have too much fire power and more playoff experience that the Nashville team.
6. Have had to spend some time at the hospital ensuring that my sibling is getting good medical care - he as a long term chronic and terminal illness and every time he gets sick there is considerable concern about his recovery - it was touch and go for a couple of days but he is once again on the road to recovery.
Cheers
D
1. Once again this year I am a bike escort rider for the Vancouver Marathon but will only be a patrol rider and not a lead rider - this was partly my request due to other events you will see in the post below. Tomorrow is the Marathon and unlike last year the weather looks dry and sunny so the short will likely be the dress order of the day.
2. Monday is voting day and I will ask that all of you Canadians please take the time to go to the polls and vote for the candidate of your choice.
3. Normally I would post who to vote for or vote against but ______
4, I am now a fully trained crew leader - ie - supervisor for Stats Canada for the purpose of the Canadian census and thus I am unable to to politically active in any way so no thoughts on the current campaign etc.
5. The Canucks are now into the second round and I think this one will go 5 perhaps six at most as I feel that the Canucks have too much fire power and more playoff experience that the Nashville team.
6. Have had to spend some time at the hospital ensuring that my sibling is getting good medical care - he as a long term chronic and terminal illness and every time he gets sick there is considerable concern about his recovery - it was touch and go for a couple of days but he is once again on the road to recovery.
Cheers
D
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