Coming Attractions

Posted on March 19, 2013March 19, 2013 by Dusty Roads

With the nasty weather the northeast has been experiencing since I came back from Florida and the time it’s taken to assimilate Buddy into our little family, I haven’t been doing too much exploring.

For once Sunday at work was not too crazy so I sat and pondered what I could write about until I get out and about again. I thought of a few places that would be awesome for pictures and of course that would mean some good stories but none are open yet. Some won’t open their doors until May!

May is the Alaska cruise so I’m sure I’ll have a lot to tell you then but there’s the rest of March and all of April so what can I share that would be of interest?

I think I have an idea. I have thousands of pictures from my trips, both away and locally. But just dumping a bunch of pictures isn’t that interesting so I thought a challenge might be fun.

Lets say I went to Paris. (I haven’t but we’re just pretending right now). While in Paris I took a picture of the Eiffel Tower. I would post the picture and you’d have to figure out that it was the Eiffel Tower in Paris France.

The next post will give you the answer so you’ll know if you are right and tell a little bit about the picture or landmark.

So even though I haven’t been to Paris and I have to “steal” a picture of the Eiffel Tower. Here it is.

Hippity Hoppity Easter is On the Way

Posted on March 18, 2013March 18, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Hard to believe that Easter is just 2 weeks away. Where is this year going? I try not to push my little card line too much here. This space is my travel/ adventure/ experience/ musings space. Still my greeting cards are a part of me and what I do so here is a message from my sponsor (me) www.dustyroadsphotos.etsy.com

You still have time to get unique, original cards for Easter, all handcrafted by me. No employees. Take a look at what I have available so far.

Easter Egg Garden

A favorite from 2012

And new this year

And …here’s the best part…this year they are only $2.95 each. You still have time to place your order and get your cards in time for Easter.

Thank you for your time and tomorrow we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programing. 🙂

An Irish Blessing

Posted on March 17, 2013March 17, 2013 by Dusty Roads

To all my friends old and new, and acquaintances that are passing through, to everyone who has passed my way, this Irish blessing is sent today.

Cruise Ship Nightmares

Posted on March 16, 2013March 16, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I am counting my lucky stars these days. Joe and I had a great cruise on The Carnival Imagination but Carnival is being plagued with bad news stories these days.

The string of bad luck started January 13, 2012 with the sinking of the Costa Concordia, one of the worse passenger ship disasters since the sinking of the Titanic.

At the time I wasn’t aware that Carnival Cruise Lines was the parent company for the Costa Concordia not that it would have made any difference to me when I accepted the free cruise from my time share.

Blissfully unaware of any issues at Carnival we looked forward to our mini cruise. We joked about the ships that had engine fires or became disease riddled. Stories like that were always popping up in the news. But when you consider the number of ships that are plying the seas it stands to reason that there will be a mishap now and then.

Our cruise was wonderful. In spite of less than perfect weather it was relaxing and pleasant. So it was with some surprise that I listened the horrendous reports about the Carnival Ship Triumph which became stranded in the Gulf of Mexico not far from where we had been. It was a mini cruise that followed one of the itineraries I had the option to choose. We went out of Florida, not Texas. A different choice and we could have been on that ill-fated ship. Still I felt it was just a “fluke”. Now I am beginning to wonder.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean are the largest cruise lines according to industry statistics with Carnival cornering approximately 21 % of the total cruise market worldwide with a fleet of 23 ships.

But back to the string of bad luck. Costa Concordia is by far the worse with an actual sinking and loss of life.

Then we have Triumph that drifted in the Gulf of Mexico . Passengers reported over flowing toilets, sewage in the halls, cold and spoiling food before they were towed to port.

Following the Triumph in quick succession we had the Elation…

Then , Dream

and now Legend!

Carnival Elation had to be escorted by tugboat because of a malfunction in its steering system.

Carnival Dream lost power and toilets stopped working . Even though they were in port at the time no one was allowed to get off the vessel.

Carnival Legend was on the last leg of a seven-day cruise through the Caribbean when technical problems affected its sailing speed.

It’s been reported (but I haven’t been able to verify) that in a months time 3 other Carnival Ships have reported problems.

Carnival announced this week that it is conducting a “comprehensive review” of all of its ships. Until things improve I think I’ll stay away from Carnival Cruises.

I’ll be heading off on another cruise in May, north to Alaska. I’m looking forward to seeing the glaciers and wildlife of our 49th state but we won’t be cruising with Carnival. This trip is on the Princess Cruise Line. I haven’t heard anything bad about them lately. 🙂

The Saga of a Stray Cat ~ The Final Chapter

Posted on March 15, 2013March 15, 2013 by Dusty Roads

So the cat, now known as “Buddy”, is back with me. I think you knew this was coming. Maybe it was meant to be. I really don’t go looking for cats, they just find me.

The vet couldn’t find anything wrong with Buddy’s head or skin. It wasn’t red or inflamed. There was no sign of scratches. She tested him for ring-worm…negative. It looked like someone waxed the spot on his head. She wondered if there were children in the home that might have stuck a sticky candy or gum or a lolly pop on his head and then pulled it off. It was a mystery.

All jokes about Rogain and Hair Club for Cats aside, we really had no idea what caused the sudden hair loss.

With Buddy’s return there was no need for a re-introduction. The three cats gave greeting sniffs then scattered to do whatever cat things they were doing before I brought Buddy back.

I remember my threat to call him “Boomer” but he seems to respond to Buddy so Buddy it is.

His hair is growing back quickly. Right now it looks like a bad comb over. Buddy always comes running when he hears the hair dryer. By putting it on low I can use it to blow his hair aside to check his skin. So far so good.

Another co-worker came forward and offered to take him but I told her he’d been bounced around enough. I hope she will adopt another needy kitty. Buddy seems to have settled in here with me. He’s found his Forever Home.