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We sailed on the Equinox back in 2021, our first post covid cruise!
The Celebrity Equinox (IMO: 9372456) is a Passenger Ship that was built in 2009 (15 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Malta.
Her carrying capacity is 121878 Gross Tonnage and her current draught is reported to be 8.9 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 317.2 meters and her width is 36.9 meters. Thanks to Marine Traffic for this information:
www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:289375/...
Celebrity Silhouette is the fourth ship in the Solstice class, following her sister ships, Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity Eclipse, and preceding Celebrity Reflection. Solstice, Equinox, and Eclipse entered service in 2008, 2009, and 2010, respectively. Silhouette debuted in 2011, and Reflection, the final ship in the class, debuted in 2012. Thank you Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity_Silhouette
As I said above she was our first cruise post covid and it was great! We really enjoy sailing with Celebrity and with the right (and itinerary) we'll sail with them again!
I just realized that when I got this photo:
www.flickr.com/photos/nyalr/51936682413/in/photolist-2phx... we were also in Antigua. Hmm....maybe it's a sign?
The last step in a most arduous disembarkation!
Once you've passed immigration there's just one more hurdle to getting of the ship and that's getting scanned out.
All guests have a key card that they use during their cruise and it serves multiple purposes. It unlocks your cabin, serves as an onboard charge card for drinks and merchandise, lets you on and off the ship in ports and it's your casino loyalty card if you decide to play.
As you're taking those last steps toward the gangway you'll have your card scanned one more time. The ship wants to know that you've actually left the ship and it finalizes your onboard bill, which will be showing up on your credit card statement next month.
Leave it to the Officer with the eagle eyes to see that!
We were parked next to Mein Schiff (don't know which number) when I got this shot in St. Martin. Evidently the deck crew officer has seen an area he didn't like and was letting these guys know about it.
When you take a cruise holiday your every need is catered to and you've got nothing to worry about.
Sometimes it's easy to forget that there are a LOT of of people both in the front and back of the house that make things happen for your dream vacation to be the best it can be. Folks that aren't on holiday, they're working at their jobs to provide for their families back home.
If you should ever go on a cruise I hope that you won't forget these folks and will let them know that you appreciate the hard work they put in to make things easy for you. They bust their butts so that you don't have to.
We saw things that would shock your eyelids!
As I said before we saw a lot of things on this cruise that we've never seen in our 20 years of cruising. One of those things was fruit on the bar.
Normally the bar keeps their fruit in the garnish center behind the bar, cut up and ready for use. Pluck out a couple of cherries or a slice of lemon and you're good to go. On this trip they were doing things a bit differently.
As the orders came in and the bartender filled them he would occasionally grab a lemon or lime and slice it up to add to his latest creation. Kind of a nice touch, having freshly cut garnish on your beverage of choice.
Now, be honest with me. When you clicked on this you didn't think I was really talking about the basket of fresh fruit on the bar, did you?
I will likely never get this shot again as long as I live. I was shooting seagulls in the early night sky, handheld but braced against a railing, full 20x telephoto on my Olympus (540mm equiv.). I took about ten shots before I got this one. Lucky. I converted this to black and white and lowered the exposure slightly to combat the noise in the original. That said, this was taken well after the sun went down.
The weather took a turn for the worse but it wasn't that bad (yet).
Shortly after we started heading back to San Diego old Mother Nature decided to show up and make us pay for all those days of sun and fun.
The Captain came across the blower and told everyone that because of a big headwind and a storm blowing into California he was going to put the pedal down all the way back. What this meant for the guests is that things were going to get a little rough and rocky but not to worry, he'd sailed in worse conditions so this wouldn't be too bad.
Personally we didn't think it was bad at all, we'd experienced much worse when we caught the tail end of a hurricane off the coast of Martinique but it wasn't a pleasant time for some, in fact the medical department was handing out Dramamine and Bonine like they were after dinner mints!
The sea started churning and the wind started howling so it was decided that the Promenade deck was to be closed to everyone so this is the best shot I could get of the wild weather. As I said before it didn't bother us but for some it was not the perfect ending to the perfect trip.
Like so many Caribbean islands St. Vincent is a very colorful place!
We made it back to St Vincent with little time to spare so the only shot I got of the place was from the balcony and this is it.
As I said before St. Vincent is a great place for scuba and snorkeling, not such a great place for gawking tourists so I'm pretty sure we didn't miss anything!
BTW, I happened to do a YouTube search and found 4 different songs with the title "After The Rain". Didn't know it was such a popular phrase!
Boney James:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AekWuA9-tPk
The Angels:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wic30jKOlrc
Nelson:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=afkTOe-u_8k
Nickelback:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi2uOOAKJjY
PS:
For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. For some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!
I bought Niccy a pair of binoculars, they've got to be the best gift ever!
We took a little road trip yesterday, went a couple of hours north up towards San Carlos and wound up at the Apache Gold Casino. Bonus that Niccy was able to walk away $120 ahead of the game!
When we get a chance we like to road trip, we call it prep for when we get our RV. We'll take a nice picnic lunch with us and just enjoy the scenery. About 2/3 of the way there we stopped for a leg stretch and to take a look at the scenery.
She likes to get her binoculars out and look at the scenery, I like to look for the shot. This stop, we both got what we were looking for!
I know she's looking forward to getting on the road as much as I am and it's only a matter of time.
Just a note for those in colder climes this was a pretty typical January day in Arizona. It was a bit cool for Niccy but she's cold in anything less than 75 degrees F. We had clear skies and the temps were in the high 60s (20.5~ C) with no rain in sight!
So many people thing solar or wind is the way of the future, I say Nay Nay to them!
This is from the storm that blew through this last Thursday, 27 July 23. The storm came in from the South and headed North, didn't come close to the city at all, so no nice closeups for me to get!
I'm guessing the Grid was running a little low and needed a recharge. A single lightning bolt is estimated to contain 1 Billion volts of electricity, enough to power a small town for an entire day! Not an easy thing to capture but if we could we'd all see our electric bills drop. Of course, the electric company doesn't want to be giving away electricity so don't expect to see any changes in your bill anytime soon.
This was shot @ f/7.1 with 36 seconds on the clock and ISO 100. I had my lens zoomed out a bit to 46mm since the storm was so far away.
The difference between the two really was Black and White.
We wound up taking a ship's tour in Fuerte Amador and Panama City which was real interesting. Sure, we saw the requisite churches and tourist stops but what stood out to me was the divide between the haves and the have nots.
When we first went into the city it was not exactly what I expected to see. Huge skyscrapers, high end shopping malls, beautiful coastlines,lots of beautiful people walking the streets. Pretty impressive to say the least.
Well, fortunately our route took us through the beauty and also showed us the Other Side of the city as well. Urban decay, poverty, walls covered in graffiti. Littered streets. Public spaces overgrown, unkempt and unloved.
I talked to the tour guide about it a bit and according to him the skyscrapers, malls, and beautiful people were all foreigners with money, mostly from Asia. The other side was the Panamanian people who had been forced out by the "invaders" (his term, not mine) who had taken over. It seemed that the Panamanian folk weren't happy but didn't have the means to fight back. There were protests but like here in the US they seemed to fall on deaf ears.
This made me wonder what he thought about us, were we "invaders" too, albeit temporary? Maybe acceptable "invaders" since we were the reason he was getting a paycheck? I guess we'll never know since he walked away to continue with our tour.
This was shot through a bus window as we were headed out and converted to B/W.
The things I have to do to become Insta Famous!
One of the MANY people out to see the parade.
I'm sure she means well but if you were to put her out in a pasture with a couple of cows I'm sure she'd fall apart quicker than a cheap suit. Were they to make a movie called Urban Cowgirl she'd probably have a shot at the lead role!
Another shot using the f/16 which seems to work but evidently not shooting into the sun? The sky is pretty blown out, not sure how I compensate for that. I suppose that an ND filter would work but that means another purchase since this lens needs a 62mm and everything else I've got is Canon 58mm.
I almost fell for the tale their telling...
Lets talk about the Logos Hope. According to their website:
Our ships visit each port of call for several weeks at a time and open the gangways to hundreds and often thousands of visitors every day. The floating book fairs offer many diverse titles, providing many visitors their first-ever opportunity to choose from the wide range of quality literature.
An international crew and staff of volunteers from around 60 different countries live and work on the ships, devoting one or more years of their lives to serving on board. The ship people promote literacy and education, cross-cultural co-operation, and social awareness, and reflect God’s compassion for the world in the ports and countries they visit.
Sounds pretty good right? Made me think of Mercy Ships:
Mercy Ships are hospital ships filled with volunteer professionals who selflessly provide free, life-changing surgeries to children and adults who otherwise would go without.
I can totally support Mercy Ships, in fact I could see myself and Niccy volunteering with them if we were younger. Logos Hope, not so much.
Again according to their website:
Over six million people have attended conferences and other events on board.
More than 11 million children have visited the ships and experienced the unique environment on board for themselves and hundreds of tonnes of books have been donated (to Logos Hope).
The part they're NOT saying out loud is that when they pull into these ports is that they're SELLING these books to the local populace like a floating Barnes & Noble or Blackwells for those in the UK!
I thought they were giving out the gift of literacy to people in the poorest parts of the world. Turns out their "gift" comes at a price for those who receive it.
An old, old joke from Jungle River Cruise at Disneyland, dating back to 1955!
To learn more about it:
www.inventingdisneyland.com/2019/12/backstory-on-back-sid...
Niccy is on the mend from having some back surgery and starting to get a little cabin fever so I suggested a short trip out of town. We wound up going to an RV Adventure Van show in Phoenix where we quickly discovered that we're not the Adventure Van kind of people. We don't ski, we don't surf, we don't bungee jump off of cliffs. We're more of the Explorer type although we've had some adventures in some of the thrift shops we like to frequent!
We had packed a picnic lunch and decided to find a nice park to eat at which is how we wound up at Arizona Falls:
www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/2019/07/03/arizona...
Don't be fooled by the name though. Yes there is water and yes, it is falling but it's definitely not natural! It is cool though, thanks to the evaporation process that occurs.
The thing you've got to remember is that any kind of riparian (thanks Hyacinth) feature is a big draw here in the desert. This was shot from behind the falling water, hence the title.
As the sun went down the storm intensified!
A shot of the pool in the middle of the ship. The Captain has ordered that the retractable top be closed, something you normally don't see on a sunny day!
As the storm built outside so did the waves in the Middeck pool. They got big enough that the crew put out the net that covers the pool which meant no swimming at all. Sorry about you wanting to take a dip, it's not happening today.
BTW, there's not a fountain in the middle of the dolphin sculpture, that's the pool water doing it's own thing!
To the west of the Taj is the Mosque,made up of Red sand stone.
It faces the direction of the holy city of Mecca
Adorned with pietra dura on the outside, the mosque
boasts of 4 octagonal towers and 3 elegant domes.
The sparkling floor is made up of a material that appears to be velvet
red in shade and is
laid out with the outlines of 569 prayer rugs in black marbles.
The interiors of the mosque are inscribed with delicate calligraphy
citing the name Allah and quotations from scriptures.
The mosque has a basic tripartite design:a long hall surmounted by three domes.
The mosque has one of the finest architectecture in terms of design,detailing,symmetry and beauty that i have seen.........
Explored Nov 18 #4
thanks to all :)
Niccy and I just got back from a transatlantic cruise so I've finally got some shots to post!
The BAHIA CADIZ CUARTO (Cadiz Bay Quarter) (MMSI: 224554660) is a passenger ferry and is sailing under the flag of Spain. Her length overall (LOA) is 26 meters and her width is 8 meters. She's powered by 2x MAN diesel engines and can carry up to 150 passengers.
She is owned by Consorcio De Transportes Bahia De Cadiz and makes regularly scheduled runs between Cadiz and either El Puerto de Santa Maria or Rota Spain.
I just looked on the map and it looks like Lil' T-N-Willy gets around
Lil' T-N-Willy (MMSI: 368194570) is a Fishing Vessel and is sailing under the flag of USA. Her length overall (LOA) is 22 meters and her width is 4 meters. Her current location is at USEC-US East Coast (reported 1 month, 12 days ago), located in North Carolina. Thanks to MarineTraffic.com for the above information:
www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:6670220/zoom:14
As the caption says I saw Lil' T-N-Willy in Sint Maarten, not a bad place to hang out during the Winter Months.
PS, my standard disclaimer:
For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. For some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!
Niccy and I found several reasons we don't like Cabo San Lucas and this is one of them.
Ahh, the Lizard Men....They've got a pretty good strategy (scam) for getting those tourist dollars. They come up behind stationary tourists, plop an Iguana down on the tourist's shoulder or head then tell the tourist's companions "Get a picture, get a picture!" Once the photo is snapped out comes the hand, looking for a gratuity (Dollars please, no Pesos) so the can buy a little more lizard chow.
As I said in the previous shot Niccy and I were done with all the tomfoolery so we found a nice shady table and watched as this scenario played itself out over and over. There were at least 5 or 6 of these guys and they were working nonstop. After the initial shock of having a lizard dropped on them I'd say that most of the tourists came across with a little dough and their friends came away with a photo on their phone that they'll soon forget about and delete.
I guess that during our walk I had a look that said don't even try it since they didn't bother us at all. Had the dropped one on me it would have been an inconvenience, had they dropped one on Niccy she definitely would have screamed and then it would have been Katie bar the door (a punch up, brawl, fisticuffs, etc) between the lizard man and me.
Honestly, out of our three stops this was the worst for touts, lizard men and hawkers.
Chilling by the ocean sure beats the Tucson heat!
Niccy and I packed up the family (Tater Tot and Mushi-Mushi) and headed out on our first adventure!
We took the RV on a short shakedown cruise over to San Diego, specifically Point Loma Naval Base.
There's a nice camping spot on the base, right on the water. No electric, no water, but since we're self contained it wasn't a problem We spent a couple of days doing absolutely nothing except watching the world pass us by. Exactly the kind of experience we were looking for.....except for the skunks.
We found out there's a family of skunks that live in the area and come out at night. During the day they must be sleeping but around 9-10 PM they come out for an evening stroll. They pretty much avoid the campers but you can certainly tell when they've gone walkabout!
Sissy Jon all doubled up and shiny in her Bali Double Double Support All-In-Ones and L'eggs Double Control Top Pantyhose!
Evidently sunset dinner cruises in San Diego Harbor are the thing to do!
"Reminiscent of a cruise ship, Spirit of San Diego is our most versatile vessel. During the day she tours visitors around the San Diego Bay, but can also be reserved for any type of private event. Host your next party aboard the Spirit of San Diego and enjoy unobstructed views of the stunning San Diego Bay, first-class service, luxurious comforts, and refined meals prepared by our gourmet galley.".
www.flagshipsd.com/flagship-fleet/spirit-san-diego
The Spirit Of San Diego was headed out on one of her harbor tours when we saw her. There are several outfits down on the walkway offering these trips and I would imagine they're all ran by the same parent company. We were heading out on the real deal so we didn't pay too much attention!
Nobody else seemed worried so why should we?
If ti's at all possible we like to go out exploring on our own when we hit a new port. We'd been to Puerto Vallarta before but that was many moons ago so it all seemed pretty new to us.
The MalecĂłn Boardwalk is about 7.3 KM (4.5 Miles) from the cruise port, easy to walk 20 years ago but not so easy now so that was off the table. Taxis wanted $25 US to take us there so that was definitely a no go, leaving us with the city bus.
The fare per person is only 10 Pesos one way (55 cents US) so we waited at a stop till a bus that said MalecĂłn on it came by and we climbed aboard.
The ride itself was pretty uneventful but Niccy wasn't that impressed with the driver's navigating skills, especially when we got to the cobblestone road part of the ride. I told her he was a trained professional who did this for a living every day but I don't think she was satisfied with my comment!
I'm sure glad she's the adventurous sort, it makes our excursions a whole lot more fun!
The work doesn't stop just because the sun goes down!
The vessel DOUCE FRANCE (IMO 9845661, MMSI 228395600) is a Container Ship built in 2020 (4 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of France. As of this upload the current position of DOUCE FRANCE is at North East Atlantic Ocean reported 22 hours ago by AIS. The vessel is en route to the port of Philipsburg, Sint Maarten (NL), sailing at a speed of 8.1 knots and expected to arrive there on Feb 19, 17:00. Thanks to VesselFinder.com for the above information:
www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/9845661
We were late leaving Sint Maarten which gave me a chance to get this night shot. As I said above the job doesn't stop just because the sun goes down, especially in a working port like this.
PS, my standard disclaimer:
For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. It's a known issue and for some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!
We've never sailed on her but we do own Carnival stock!
Carnival Venezia is a Vista-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Originally intended to serve the Chinese market, she debuted as Costa Venezia for sister brand Costa Cruises in Shanghai on 18 May 2019.[5] At 135,225 gross tonnage (GT) and with a capacity of 4,208 passengers, she briefly became the largest ship in the Costa fleet until the debut of Costa Smeralda in late 2019.
In 2023, amid a corporate fleet reshuffling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the industry, Costa Venezia was transferred to Carnival under a new sub-brand named "Costa as Carnival" operating as "Carnival Fun Italian Style". The new concept was designed to integrate Costa Venezia and sister ship Costa Firenze into Carnival in a bid to boost domestic American capacity after the cruise line had sold numerous older vessels while Costa contended with operational challenges in its core markets. In March 2023, she was officially renamed Carnival Venezia during her pre-delivery renovation and debuted for Carnival the following May as the lead vessel for the new sub-fleet of Venice-class ships.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the information:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Venezia
For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. It's a well known issue and for some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!
I do believe they got on the wrong ship!
The Zaandam had several small decks on the aft of the ship that are a bit tricky to find. Lucky me, I stumbled across them and came upon this engaging scene.
These are not your typical Holland America cruisers, these two really skew the demographic! Holland America cruisers usually don't pose for Instagram shots (notice how she's got her feet one in front of the other, one foot raised) nor do they spend minutes taking the same shot over and over and over again.
They don't agonize over getting the right angle (a 45 degree turn while keeping your head down) or worry about standing where the sun rays can get to you and highlight your best features.
I spent several minutes watching this bizarre ritual, then headed off to find an old person doing something silly that I could shoot. Not a challenging target on Holland America!
The Buffalo Soldiers have a long and storied history, it's good to see these gentlemen keeping it alive!
The First African American soldiers to arrive in Arizona at Fort Huachuca were the Buffalo Soldiers in the l890’s; the 9th and l0th Cavalries and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments. The Fort Huachuca Buffalo Soldiers distinguished themselves in the Spanish American War and the charge up San Juan Hill. They were part of the Punitive Expedition into Mexico and were sent to Camp Naco, Arizona, Camp Little in Nogales and other locations in Arizona to guard the Arizona Borders during the Mexican Revolution.
If you'd like to visit their webpage I'm sure it would be most appreciated:
These gentlemen come up from Fort Huachuca every year to ride in the Tucson Rodeo Parade. They're working hard to keep a part of history alive and I can certainly appreciate their effort!
The Tucson Rodeo Parade is believed to be the nation's longest non-motorized parade dating back to 1925. All the parade entries are horse pulled other than the marching bands and the street sweepers who always end the parade by cleaning up the landmines left by our equine friends.
We've never sailed on her but we do own Carnival stock!
Carnival Venezia is a Vista-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Originally intended to serve the Chinese market, she debuted as Costa Venezia for sister brand Costa Cruises in Shanghai on 18 May 2019.[5] At 135,225 gross tonnage (GT) and with a capacity of 4,208 passengers, she briefly became the largest ship in the Costa fleet until the debut of Costa Smeralda in late 2019.
In 2023, amid a corporate fleet reshuffling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the industry, Costa Venezia was transferred to Carnival under a new sub-brand named "Costa as Carnival" operating as "Carnival Fun Italian Style". The new concept was designed to integrate Costa Venezia and sister ship Costa Firenze into Carnival in a bid to boost domestic American capacity after the cruise line had sold numerous older vessels while Costa contended with operational challenges in its core markets. In March 2023, she was officially renamed Carnival Venezia during her pre-delivery renovation and debuted for Carnival the following May as the lead vessel for the new sub-fleet of Venice-class ships.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the information:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Venezia
For those who are wondering the tugboat that's escorting her out is the Barbados II out of Bridgetown.
For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. It's a well known issue and for some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!
The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation.
The volunteers served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848. The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534 and 559 Latter-day Saint men, led by Mormon company officers commanded by regular U.S. Army officers. During its service, the battalion made a grueling march of nearly 2,100 miles from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego, California.
Thank you to Wikipedia for the above verbiage:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Battalion
One of the many floats in the parade. I'm not sure but I would imagine that it's sponsored and staffed by the LDS Church.
The Tucson Rodeo Parade is believed to be the nation's longest non-motorized parade dating back to 1925. All the parade entries are horse pulled other than the marching bands and the street sweepers who always end the parade by cleaning up the landmines left by our equine friends.
Yeah, I used a bit of "artistic license" on this shot!
There's a rumor going around about missing men....
The story going around is that there's been men going out to Catherine Sienko's place for a visit and never making it back home. I was tasked with going out to check things out but I'm not going alone. I'm bringing along some "friends" just in case things should wind up going sideways!
A shot of one of the gentlemen from the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers, riding in the Tucson Rodeo Parade.
The First African American soldiers to arrive in Arizona at Fort Huachuca were the Buffalo Soldiers in the l890’s; the 9th and l0th Cavalries and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments. The Fort Huachuca Buffalo Soldiers distinguished themselves in the Spanish American War and the charge up San Juan Hill. They were part of the Punitive Expedition into Mexico and were sent to Camp Naco, Arizona, Camp Little in Nogales and other locations in Arizona to guard the Arizona Borders during the Mexican Revolution.
If you\'d like to visit their webpage I'm sure it would be most appreciated:
These gentlemen come up from Fort Huachuca every year to ride in the Tucson Rodeo Parade. They\'re working hard to keep a part of history alive and I can certainly appreciate their effort!
The Tucson Rodeo Parade is believed to be the nation's longest non-motorized parade dating back to 1925. All the parade entries are horse pulled other than the marching bands and the street sweepers who always end the parade by cleaning up the landmines left by our equine friends.
Don't be afraid to stand out in the crowd!
One evening before dinner the Captain of the ship had a "Welcome Aboard" reception in the Atrium. It was on a formal night so everyone was dressed to the nines, myself excepted. As he went on with his canned speech I scanned the scene to find something interesting and came across this guy.
The lights were down with a spotlight on the Captain but there were lights around the periphery and this guy just happened to be standing right underneath one. His suit stood out among the other penguins and he radiated a confidence that really shined through.
Good on you sir for daring to be different!
This lens is definitely not made for dark situations but in this case it worked out well.
For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. It's a well known issue and for some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!
Some people will go to great lengths not to be a part of the shot!
Some of the folks visiting the Mission San José de Tumacácori. As I said in a previous shot we decided to skip the docent led tour and wander on our own and this is exactly why!
He was intent on getting the perfect Insta shot and she obliged for a couple of them but finally hit her limit and turned away. Hopefully it didn't sour the rest of their looking around!
Definitely not from around here, you can tell because he's wearing a coat. Weather was fantastic today, 65 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze, no need for anything other than a light sweater at most.
If you want a good spot you'd better get here early!
It's that time again, time for the 98th annual Tucson Rodeo Parade!
Our lodge is directly across from the rodeo grounds which means the parade passes right down the street in front of the building!
Providing parking for the parade and rodeo patrons is our big moneymaker for the year, along with our semi-annual yard sales. Being right across from the rodeo grounds and parade grandstands means we tend to fill up pretty quick. It's nice to put out the lot full signs but you do feel a bit sad for the latecomers that you see circling the blocks trying to find parking!
The Tucson Rodeo Parade is believed to be the nation's longest non-motorized parade dating back to 1925. All the parade entries are horse pulled other than the street sweepers who always end the parade by cleaning up the landmines left by our equine friends.
This is SOOC other than a crop!
I saw this lady taking several selfies and thought I might be able to do something with the shot so I took it. When I saw the picture on my monitor I was quite shocked.
I honestly don't know what happened, I'm thinking some sort of a weird reflection or lens distortion at the edge of the lens because I know this lady did not look this way at all. Maybe it's like the movie They Live:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Live
where the special sunglasses (or special camera lens) let you see the aliens hiding in the human form?
I was a bit torn on whether to upload this or not but I decided to since I don't know exactly what happened. If anyone has any guesses please send them my way.
The next best thing to actually being down there!
Back in the days some cruise lines offered "Behind The Scenes" tours of their ships to give passengers a glimpse of what went on while they were out lounging by the pool drinking maitais and baking in the sun. The tour would usually include the one of the galleys, maybe the laundry, and the engineering spaces. They were always interesting, at least to me and I'd always take advantage if they offered one.
Well, between covid and security concerns the tours ground to a halt. No longer could you see the chefs making your meal or the engines that were propelling you through the water at a leisurely 12 knots an hour. People voiced their anger, Holland America listened, and came up with a solution of sorts.
What they did was grab a camera and made a virtual tour of the engineering spaces. The Chief Engineer was on stage and gave us a guided tour of his department then answered questions from the audience.
The way I understand it is this was a trial to see how well it was received. Everyone who attended seemed to enjoy the show and it was a good compromise for all. Hopefully they'll expand it to include other departments on the ship.
Vince Pardo sounds like the kind of guy I wish I'd met.
A riderless horse in the Tucson Rodeo Parade, honoring
Vince Pardo. I would imagine he did a lot of work for many of the cowboys who took part in the rodeo. Repairing shoes is not something you would think about much today in our world of everything being disposable.
The riderless horse has quite a story behind it, if you'd like to learn more you can see this Wikipedia article:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riderless_horse
Quite the honor to say the least,
It's that time again, time for the 98th annual Tucson Rodeo Parade!
Our lodge is directly across from the rodeo grounds which means the parade passes right down the street in front of the building!
The Tucson Rodeo Parade is believed to be the nation's longest non-motorized parade dating back to 1925. All the parade entries are horse pulled other than the marching bands and the street sweepers who always end the parade by cleaning up the landmines left by our equine friends.
You know, I like what I'm hearing!
One of the many intangible benefits of providing parking for the Tucson Rodeo and Parade is that we get to meet a lot of people that we normally wouldn't meet and this is the perfect example.
The gentleman in the Driver's Flat Cap had parked in the lot and then decided to have a conversation with one of my lodge brothers. Turns out he's a Mason and his trowel is a bit rusty, aka hasn't been to a lodge meeting in awhile. Hopefully he decides to brush up on his work and come back to lodge.
My personal feeling is that he might be a snowbird aka "winter visitor" to the area. That's not a problem since a good number of our members are snowbirds and we welcome them in when they're in the area!
According to Google Maps....
A play off of the Jim Frazier shot:
www.flickr.com/photos/jimfrazier/2111061477/in/dateposted/
I'm not sure if they were trying to figure out how to use the camera or figure out where the Canyon is? Hopefully they found what they were looking for!
The M/V Tradewind Adventure leaving Barbados.
TRADEWIND ADVENTURE (IMO: 9485590) is a Oil/Chemical Tanker and is sailing under the flag of Panama. Her length overall (LOA) is 130.2 meters and her width is 20.8 meters. She was headed out of Barbados when I got this shot. Thanks to MarineTraffic.com:
www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:416497/...
for the above information.
It feels good to be back in my comfort zone, airplanes just don't do it for me!
...what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store...
A big Thank You to Tennessee Ernie Ford for the title to this shot:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1980WfKC0o
We had a very pretty Sunday pop up so Niccy and I took a day trip up to San Carlos and came across this statuary in the Miner's Memorial Park in Mammoth. A nice tribute to those folks who work (and worked) the mines in the area.
If you've ever had a job like mining, logging, etc then you probably know what it's like to work with a skeleton crew! It's also real possible that you've shopped at a company store. No need for cash, we'll just deduct it from your paycheck.
PS:
For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. For some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!
It's definitely not Tony or Angela!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_the_Boss%3F
The crew onboard the Zaandam doing a complete pool cleaning. Something I've never seen happen during the day, it usually happens at night while the guests are tucked away. Maybe this was a special situation, perhaps a Caddyshack moment?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPxiXGr9nFM
When you take a cruise holiday your every need is catered to and you've got nothing to worry about.
Sometimes it's easy to forget that there are a LOT of people both in the front and back of the house that make things happen for your dream vacation. Folks that aren't on holiday, they're working at their jobs to provide for their families back home.
If you should ever go on a cruise I hope that you won't forget these folks and will let them know that you appreciate the hard work they put in to make things easy for you. They bust their butts so that you don't have to.