Out the Stateroom Window - Allure of the Seas, August-September 2018

Solitary Flyer
Cozumel, Mexico
August 29, 2018

I enjoy writing about what I see outside of my hotel window when I travel. There is something I personally enjoy about pulling back the curtains and looking to the world beyond. During my recent cruise, I had the opportunity to see changing scenes from the balcony of my stateroom on The Allure of the Seas.

Pelican in the Morning
Cozumel, Mexico
August 29, 2018

I enjoy the changing scenes and that is one reason that when we cruise, Chris and I choose a stateroom with a balcony. Opening the curtains and watching the world beyond increases the enjoyment of getting away and seeing the world. There is so much more to the world than the ship, the decks, and the port.

Despite late hours of activities on the ship, I get up early to enjoy the sunrise, especially when the ship is sailing into a port. 

Sunrise off Roatan
August 30, 2018

The changing scenes as the ship is sailing are generally best illuminated by the golden rays of the morning light. On our recent trip, I was able to capture some memorable scenes in the early light of day as the ship was porting. Sometimes the images don't work out quite the way my mind sees them, but, usually, I am able to find my memory in the captured scene.

Moon over the Gulf of Mexico
August 28, 2018

Although I enjoy sunrises the best, on our recent trip I captured an image of the moon over the Gulf of Mexico. It took four tries to get everything the way that I saw the scene in my mind. 

Whether sunrise, sunset, moon, or birds and wildlife being able to stand on the balcony outside my stateroom is far more enjoyable than clamoring to the upper decks of the ship to attempt an image. And if it happens to be sunrise, well, I know that my morning coffee will soon be delivered by room service and I will be able to sit on the balcony and enjoy the developing scene in relative solitude while sipping my favorite morning beverage.

There is a lot to see outside the stateroom window. I'm glad that I took time to enjoy the view.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A Most Appreciated Person

Last evening, I discovered the identity of one of the most appreciated people with whom I have met during the past few weeks.

It was the Verizon repair technician!

Being back from vacation for 48 hours in a house without TV, internet, or phone is frustrating. Boring. 

I felt cut-off even though I could still both talk to people and access the internet via my cell phone. The lack of TV for news and entertainment was distressing. Maybe it would not have been so difficult had the pool been in swimmable shape, but even that is still recovering from the vacation. 

It was eerie to ask Alexa for something and hearing the response that there was no internet connection. Come on, all I wanted were the lights turned on! I wasn't asking for the news or the weather.

Having the time display return to the cable box was the first indication of success. From there, it was all good as the wireless devices around the house began to "wake-up." A few needed to be manually rebooted, but for the most part the restoration of internet and TV service happened automatically. 

We even received a phone call on the landline last evening in a final confirmation of the success of the repair.

I was vindicated in my assessment that the problem lay outside of the home in the external equipment. In fact, the technician reported that the jumpers providing service to my house had been disconnected up the street in the main service box. I wondered about how that happened and the technician postulated that they may have accidentally disconnected during another repair. 

At last service is restored! Life, post-vacation, can begin to resume some sense of normalcy. I can begin to process some of the images from the vacation. At last count the family had shared 637 images from our week together!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - Labor Day 2018

The Pool When I Came Home
September 2. 2018

1. Happy Labor Day! It is the unofficial end of the summer season. My summer will go on, however until its very last dying breath as the leaves fall from the trees. 

2. Chris and I returned home after a week away on a fantastic vacation to a green pool and no phone, internet, or television. It is very quiet in the house without the TV and none of our voice activated applications work, either.

3. It is a very hazy beginning to the holiday outside. Humidity is the name of the game and there is no wind. 

4. It is tough to write my blog without internet connection. 

Flamingos in Puerto Casa Maya
August 31, 2018

5. Now that September has arrived, we have plans to begin some significant renovations in the house.

6. I cannot believe the President’s inappropriate tweet from Saturday about running for President once and winning. Some of the greatest people in American history never served as President: Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, George Marshall, Robert McNamara—to name a few. What was the point? 

7. Clearing customs yesterday at Port Everglades was a distinctly different based upon citizenship. Foreign passport holders were in a line that seemed to be hours long while US passport holders, once recognized, cleared customs and immigration in 10 minutes.

8. I believe that the President has a personal vendetta agains Federal workers by denying them a pay raise for the coming year. I wonder who he believes does the dirty work of keeping our Republic running while at the same time foregoing rights to which other citizens are entitled?

Headlines (I am limited to headlines from the print copy of the Sunday, September 2, 2018, The New York Times due to internet issues)

Extolling McCain at Funeral, Two Presidents Stand Apart from a Third - The New York Times

A Day of Mourning for Washington, a Day of Golf and Sour Tweets for Trump - The New York Times

Executive Privilege is Cited to Keep Records Sealed - The New York Times

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Yes, America is still a symbol to a few, a symbol that is feared and hated, but to more, millions more, a symbol that is loved, a country that remains a shining city on a hill. Delivered to at the Annual Convention of the American Bar Association, July 8, 1985

Note: This blog was written on Labor Day, but not posted until Tuesday due to internet issues at home.

— Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Lighthouse - Nassau, Bahamas

Lighthouse Nassau, Bahamas
August 27, 2018

I have seen quite a few lighthouses. I tend to take many images of the one in Jupiter, Florida, because it is everywhere on the landscape. This lighthouse , however, sits alone on a spit of land guarding the channel into Nassau, Bahamas. I have seen it and imaged it before, but on my recent cruise I was lucky to be awake as the ship was sailing into the channel and caught the sky behind the lighthouse as the sun was rising.

This image was one of the memorable images from the trip. It was taken the first morning onboard The Allure of the Seas and it started the trip off in great fashion.

As an update, I am still without landline phone, internet, or tv. Monday Musings were written on my laptop but did not get published because the library was closed and I could not get an internet connection. I will publish Monday Musings-Labor Day 2018 when I get internet back. This edition was written on my phone, which lacks some of the formatting and other capabilities that my laptop provides.

Chris and I pulled out some blu-rays and watched two movies yesterday for entertainment. Thank goodness we found something in our lives that does not depend upon the internet.

— Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saying goodbye is hard to do

The Allure of the Seas
Puerto Casa Maya
August 31, 2018

Chris and I and the family walked down the gangway of The Allure of the Seas this morning for the last time officially ending the retirement cruise. It was sad. We had experienced a fantastic week aboard the grand ship and visited four fun ports of call. We were blessed with good weather, fair seas, and light winds. Amazingly, there was no rain and the sun shone brightly on us all week until our return to Fort Lauderdale this morning.

The Allure was a majestic and fun-filled ship. The food was very good, the entertainment was fabulous and the libations flowed freely.

I resisted the urge to purchase a gaudy, large watch that I do not need. But the shopping was fun.

In the coming days I will bore you, my readers, with stories and images, both still and video, of the family's adventures of the past week.

August turned into September while we were away and that means that summer's end is drawing near. Sadly. It is Labor Day weekend. Tomorrow is a holiday for me to recover before heading back into day-to-day life.

Looking back on the week, I loved sitting on the balcony of our stateroom enjoying the sunrises or just looking at the ocean as it raced past the ship. At night we were often treated to bright stars and lightening on the horizon. We did not get to enjoy any sunsets as they happened during dinner time and we dined in the middle of the Grand Restaurant in the aft portion of the ship.

The trip was even more special, however, because the entire family had the opportunity to sail with us. We were a bit apprehensive about how it would work out, but it was great! It was good to be with our children, their spouses, and our grandsons for an entire week. I believe we all bonded together and overcame the fractures caused by the daily grind. It can be tough getting 10 people to all head in the same direction and so we allowed plenty of alone time for the individual families.

And now I am winging my way home to Maryland.

Soon this week will be a distant memory, but our family will always be closer for having spent the time together.

Thank you Royal Caribbean and Allure of the Seas for a memorable voyage.

— Bob Doan, writing from 35,000 feet over the Carolinas

Beach Day

Puerto Casa Maya Beach
August 31, 2018

Sitting again on a beach in Mexico sipping a cold local beer with our cruise ship safely tied up in the distance.

What could be better?

The ocean is beautiful. The beach serene. And best of all, it was a short taxi ride on our own and not an Uber expensive ship organized tour.

It is the best thing to do in Casa Maya. Getting out of the port complex was, well, complex. They seem to have everything planned to thwart people from just going out and getting an inexpensive taxi ride to the beach. We are at Playa El Fuerte beach. A short $2 taxi ride from the port.

Beach admission was $5 for a chair for the day and there is beverage service to the chair.

What could be better?

The Kenny Chesney song keeps scrolling over and over in my head. "So I'll just sit right here and have another beer in Mexico, and let the warm breeze melt my blues away."

Blues? What blues? My Caribbean vacation's end is closer than it's beginning. Too soon, I'll be back in the grind of daily life and this week will be just another in a string of great memories.

— Bob Doan, writing from Casa Maya, Mexico

Stay right here and have another

Beach in Cozumel
August 29, 2018

As the song says. It is a great day in Mexico. Cozumel to be exact. We are on the beach enjoying g the incredibly warm waters and an idyllic day.

It is good to be off the ship for a bit. I went diving in the Bahamas on Monday and yesterday was a sea day. I love sea days.

The diving was great. It was good to suck some compressed air and I did enjoy seeing a black tipped reef shark. As I procrastinated about checking out my gear, I was unable to take any pictures because the charger for my underwater camera came up missing.

But no matter. I have the image in my head.

All is going well so far.

— Bob Doan, writing from Cozumel, Mexico

Out the Hotel Window - Ft Lauderdale, August 26, 2018

Out My Hotel Window
Ft Lauderdale
August 26, 2018

And the vacation is underway.

Outside my hotel window this morning there are palm trees and bright skies. The start of the day is also my second day of vacation. 

Allure of the Seas in Port Everglades
August 26, 2018

Today's big event is boarding the Allure of the Seas and setting sail for the Caribbean. Yup, you guessed it, Bob is sailing away on another Caribbean vacation! Someday soon I hope to be on permanent vacation.

The second verse of Zac Brown Band's "Knee Deep," one of my current favorite songs, comes to mind:

Wrote a note, said "Be back in a minute"
Bought a boat and I sailed off in it
Don't think anybody's gonna miss me anyway
Mind on a permanent vacation
The ocean is my only medication
Wishin' my condition ain't ever gonna go away

Palm Trees
Just Because they Are
August 25, 2018

And speaking of ships or boats, airship came into port overnight. Allure of the Seas is tied up waiting for our imminent arrival. I was able to get an image of it from our hotel. Not out my window, because I am on the wrong side, but it is that close!

How close is it? 

Close enough that I had trouble getting it all into one image! It is that big!

So the morning will be devoted to getting aboard the ship after saying good-bye to my hotel room and beginning a great vacation.

Important blog note--I did NOT purchase internet connection for this trip and so blog updates will be sparse, if any at all, until I am back in port at the conclusion of the cruise.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Ft Lauderdale, FL

Consider the Moon

Moon over the Neighborhood
From Radio Flyer
August 24, 2018

The moon made an impressive appearance last evening.

The moon was evident during our late evening dog walk and then later rising over the trees around the house.

The sight was more impressive because the sky was clear and the temperatures cool, almost autumnal.

Moon Over Elkridge
Duckett's Lane
August 24, 2018

Too autumnal!

August is rapidly giving way to September and with it, the arrival of Autumn. Even though the next season is still almost a month away, the shortening of the days and the cooler temperatures are already heralding the its arrival. 

Moon Over Duckett's Lane Elementary School
August 24, 2018

But last evening it was the moon that was on display. 

I was able to get Radio Flyer up for a quick flight to capture the fading colors of the sunset after we walked the dogs. 

It was a beautiful evening for flying and capturing the scene developing above us. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Orioles Update - August 24, 2018

It is time to review the Orioles week and hope that the season ends soon.

It was not a good week for the O's. They own the worst record in baseball, albeit only by a half-game. Looking at it as if the glass were half-full, the Orioles are the 30th best team in MLB.

They are currently 37-90, .291 and have lost four in a row and are 2-8 for their last 10 games. They have been shut out 12 times this season and the prospect for scoring runs is dim with Mark Turbo moving to the DL and Danny Valencia being released. 

Doing the math, the Orioles are on pace to lose 115 games, but that number has been growing weekly and so losing 120 is not out of the question.

The 2019 schedule was released this week and the Orioles home opener is one of the last in baseball and after they have already played 6 games on the road. To imagine that there may not be a lot of excitement is an understatement, especially considering that they play the Yankees. 

Some observations:

The Orioles were swept in Toronto and have not won a game in Canada all season. They are 0-10 in Canada for 2018.

The battle for last place in baseball gets real starting on August 31st as the O's travel to Kansas City. The likelihood of getting swept is high since the O's are 16-50 on the road this season. 

The O's are 5-15, .250, thus far in August. With 8 games remaining the possibility of going 6-22, .214 for the month is very real.

Baltimore and Kansas City are the only two teams which have been mathematically eliminated from post-season play already. They other 28 teams all still have a mathematic shot at playing in October. 

There are only 35 games left in the season! That mean that the worst they could finish is 37-125, .228. By comparison the 1962 Mets were 40-120, .250.

Looking ahead: The Orioles are home for 7 games against the Yankees (4) and Toronto (3). Statistically the Orioles should win two from the Yankees and eek out one win against Toronto for a 3-4 moderately respectable home stand.

My view of the season is very different now from what I had hoped in April when the season began. I wrote, after the first game, "I love Opening Day. The magic seems to happen. For one day I can say that the Orioles are atop the American League East! Yes it is only one game and they are tied with the Yankees and the Rays--but at least for one day, they are in first."

The magic went out of the balloon pretty quickly after that, but for one game, at least, there was joy in Baltimore.

Wait till next season, we will get them then! Really? I'm thinking, not. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD