Welcome Corporalchef!

Posted on July 30, 2013July 30, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I love finding new blogs to follow and it’s especially nice when I know the person behind the name. It makes me feel like I know a celebrity.

Anyway, one of my former co workers from my “old job”, whom I hold in very high esteem for the job he has always done there, has a habit of posting the most delicious, yummy looking things on Facebook. It appears that he is quite a cook.

To everyone’s delight he has decided to share some of his creations on a new blog along with his comments on some of the celebrity chefs that rule the airwaves today. Look at this mouth watering chicken dinner he recently posted.

Want the recipe? It’s on his blog.

Whether you agree with his observations or not you can’t fault his home grown recipes. I expect his blog will generate some lively discussions.

I hope you’ll check out his blog http://corporalchef.com/

If you like what you see let’s pass it on so he can grow his audience. After all, who doesn’t like food. And maybe we can all say we had a hand in helping the Next Celebrity Chef!

What about Skagway?

Posted on April 5, 2013April 5, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Port of call # 3 is Skagway. Skagway is billed as the Gateway to the Klondike; a place where “the romance and excitement of yesteryear linger around every street corner, every bend in the trail”. With that kind of build up it was pretty clear we’d have lots of excursions to choose from. We finally settled on a combo that includes The White Pass & Yukon Railroad and

The Yukon suspension bridge , ending with a gourmet lunch. The official tour description follows.

Travel aboard the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad, renowned as the “Scenic Railway of the World.” Against all odds this iron trail was forged through some of North America’s most rugged terrain. Relax in vintage railcars and marvel at the spectacular waterfalls, cliff-hanging turns, tunnels and historic sites you pass on your journey to the summit of the White Pass and beyond to Fraser, British Columbia.

Your trip continues by motorcoach as you travel just a few miles north en route to the Yukon Suspension Bridge. Some of the most magnificent scenery on earth greets you as you step outside, breathe the pristine air, and feel the thrilling sensation of a swaying walkway 57 feet above the churning rapids of the Tutshi River (pronounced TOO-shy). Observe Mother Nature in all her glory from the main platform, then walk through the museum-quality displays that detail the areas unique human and natural history.

Reboard your motorcoach for a scenic drive along the historic Klondike Highway. Discover the area’s amazing landscape from a different perspective as you return to Skagway. Along the way, your guide thrills you with stories of stampeders as you trace their footsteps along Brackett’s Wagon Road, Pitchfork Falls, Dead Horse Gulch and the infamous Tormented Valley. You’ll stop for photo opportunities along the way.

Continue your nature-filled tour to Jewell Gardens, site of pioneer Henry Clark’s family farm. The Clark farm grew produce for the thousands of miners on their way to Dawson City and the Klondike Gold Rush. Stroll the gardens and look for hand-blown glass, created on the premises, artfully placed among nature’s creations and the playful, G-Scale model railroad, built within a model town that looks a lot like Skagway did 100 years ago.

Considered the area’s premier organic flower and vegetable garden enjoy a gourmet lunch overlooking the spectacular blooms. You’ll savor a seasonal soup, organic garden greens and homemade quiche along with a freshly baked dessert. Many ingredients for your meal come from the edible landscape around you. Ample time is provided for you to browse the quaint gift shop before returning to your ship.

The only problem I have with this tour is that I don’t like quiche. Who would have thought that in the heart of lumberjack country that the main course would be the food that earned the saying “real men don’t eat quiche”. I may not be a man but I haven’t met a quiche that I liked either! I hope the salad is good.

A Rainy Morning at Sea

Posted on February 5, 2013February 5, 2013 by Dusty Roads

We awoke to clouds and fog and rain but we were still a way out to sea. We were hoping the weather would clear before we reached Cozumel.

Our morning had fallen into a pattern. We got up, dressed and went to the Lido deck for the breakfast buffet usually a starch like pancakes, waffles or French toast. There were the eggs too, Scrambled, hard boiled, Benedict or an omelet station where you could have them prepared to order.

Of course there was the meat: bacon, sausage, ham and turkey bacon. Grits and home fries pretty much round out the standard fare. Move on to the fruit bar and there were oranges, bananas, melon wedges, fruit salad and more! Another station was set up for the continental breakfast. Yogurt, bagels and toast, muffins and corn bread. I think I also saw cereal boxes and milk on that table.

You’d think that’s be enough for anyone but they even had a dessert table groaning with cookies, Jell-O, cakes, brownies, cheesecake and chocolate pudding. You could even make yourself a bowl of frozen yogurt or soft ice cream.

Beverages include coffee or tea, orange juice, apple juice, orange~promegranate and lemonade.

No wonder people say they over-eat on cruises! All of this food is included with your cruise!

Bt the time we finished breakfast the ship had pulled into Cozumel, an island off the coast of Mexico. We were directed to go to the Xanadu lounge just one of the many lounge and stage areas on the ship. Shortly after we reached the lounge one of the cruise people came around with stickers with the number 20 to put on our shirts. There was no explanation but we would soon find out the reason.

It was still raining but pretty soon they confirmed that the excursion was still a go and called for us to line up in twos. Like funeral procession we were being led off the ship as a group and our numbers identified us as an excursion group and therefore entitled to priority disembarkation.

Getting off the ship was easy. We just had to give security our room key which was scanned to show that we had left the ship.

Now began the half walk half run down the long pier into Cozumel but we didn’t even slow down as they hurried us around a corner and onto another long pier. At the end of the pier was the ferry to the mainland. As we boarded little did we know this innocent looking boat would soon become an instrument of torture for about half the group.

On the Good Ship “Imagination”

Posted on January 27, 2013January 27, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Welcome to Cabin Riviera 207. The cabin was set up as a double with one bed.

That was easily remedied. Joe and I unmade the bed and pushed the 2 sides apart. Unfortunately there was no bedding for a “twin” set up so we made our way to guest services on deck 7 where they filled out a request form for housekeeping.

From there it was time to explore the ship. The Lido deck, deck 10, (Sounds like the Love Boat?) seems to be where most of the action is.

Bars, swimming pools and hot tubs.

A stage for shows and contests. A buffet lunch was underway so we hopped in the line. The offerings ranged from Pizza to rotisserie to “off the grill”.

I opted for the rotisserie, sliced roast beef and chicken,. Joe got a salad from the salad bar but couldn’t find any salad dressing. The paparazzi were out in force. Everyone was fair game. Everyone on the fun ship is a celebrity. And every 2nd guest had a camera. At one point I started turning the tables. If someone wanted to point a camera at me I’ll point mine at them!

The rain showers continued to drift through but didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits. Kids still slid down the giant water slide and adults sat in the hot tubs.

The revelry was briefly interrupted by the mandatory safety meeting. All guests had to report to designated locations to hear the evacuation plans incase of sinking. This included a demonstration of the life vests. We got to listen in English and then again in Spanish. Luckily we were spared French, German, Polish, Dutch etc. The last part of the safety meeting was to be led to the life boats and then we were dismissed. It’s kind of like listening to the airline attendants when they go through the safety speech on a plane. You listen but kind of not….of course history is filled with examples where the safety instructions were needed from the Titanic to the Concordia.

Around 4pm the ship cast off and we stood at the stern on deck 11 watching Miami shrink into the distance. We spotted some “ultra lights” as we left the harbor.

Heading back down to our room we bumped into “D” our room steward. We explained to him that we were friends not a “couple” and asked for the bedding to make up the room for twin beds. He was insistent that any requests like that go to him and he would make sure it was done. Thanking him we returned to the Lido deck for more pictures before dinner.

We enrolled in “anytime” dining so we didn’t have to be locked into a time frame. It was about 6:30 when we made out way to the assigned dining room…The “Pride” was on deck 8 also known as the Atlantic Deck.

Dinner was ok, nothing special. My shrimp cocktail was small but tasty. Joe’s Lettuce wedge was huge, crisp and fresh. I was disappointed in my “Southern Fried Chicken”. It was dry and all dark meat. Joe had a pumpkin, squash, yam casserole pie that was quite good. For dessert we both had the hot chocolate melting cake with vanilla ice cream. Rich, luscious, decadent, it made up for any shortfalls on the dinner.

The wait staff puts on a little performance midway though the dinner. It’s quite amusing. From there we tried several of the club activities wandering from the piano bar to the karaoke and finally to the Welcome Aboard Show.

This show is a variety style show designed to introduce you to the cruise director (Marcello) , the show dancers and singers and the comedians. Marcello pulled audience members up to the stage for silly skits between performances by the staff. Not a bad time but for me it was the end of a long day and time to call it a night.

Arriving back to R207 we were please to see our beds separated and crisply made up. Ready for a tired head to hit the pillows.

Tomorrow our port of call is Key West. It will be fun to be back after so many years away. Last time I was there was when Joe was driving the trolley in 2000.