Update no.908A

Update from the Sunland

No.908A

1.6.19 – 9.6.19

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

            To all,

            The Update hiatus announced in Update no.907is officially over.  For security reasons, I chose not to broadcast the reason for going dark, but now you will know.

            This is yet another travelogue and the celebration cruise for our oldest grandchild Aspen Shae Loe and her graduation from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas [905].  Per our offer, Aspen chose to invite her girlfriend, Jazelle Mary Alice Gonzalez, to join her and us for the adventure.

            We contracted with Victoria Yanovskaya, AKA Tori, who we have utilized several times previously, as our dog/house sitter, so that Sadie and Bella remained in a familiar, comfortable environment while we were absent.  Tori does a great job, as always.

Day -1

Fountain Hills, Maricopa, Arizona, United States of America:

Saturday, 1.June.2019; 05:00 [T] MST (PDT) {FYI, Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time}:

We left home to begin our journey.  Aspen and Jazelle traveled from Wichita to Dallas-Fort Worth to board their flight.  The plan called for us all to meet up in Atlanta for the second leg flight to New Orleans.

Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona, United States of America:

Saturday, 1.June.2019; 05:30 [T] MST (PDT):

I will say with emphasis that TSA Pre-check is a really good service to have.  If you travel or plan to travel, you should sign up for the service.  As we learned with Aspen and Jazelle, the process requires a short interview by TSA personnel to ensure you are who you say you are and exactly how you identify yourself, but the procedure is innocuous.

Atlanta, Fulton, Georgia, United States of America:

Saturday, 1.June.2019; 13:30 [R] EDT:

Fortunately, we had a 100 mph tailwind on the three-plus hour flight and arrive 30 minutes early, which made the long trek from one end of Terminal A to the other end of Terminal T at Hartsfield International Airport a little less hectic.  As planned, we were reunited with Aspen and Jazelle and even had time for a Snickers [part of an aviator’s lunch ;-) ] and a nice little chat.

New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America:

Saturday, 1.June.2019; 16:30 [S] CDT:

We arrived ahead of schedule, again and took a taxi to the hotel in the Central Business District—Hyatt House New Orleans Downtown, which seems to be a rather odd addition to the Hyatt Regency that had the front desk on the 11^thFloor.  A modest entrance lobby had a no-so express elevator to the lobby floor.  The hotel’s rooms occupied the floors above.  Our room was on the 11^thfloor and turned out to be rather nice and comfortable for a night’s stay.

Jazelle and Jeanne were the only two who had not experienced the French Quarter, so we agree to walk to the festive section of the city.  It was early evening, but there was already a crush of people filling Bourbon Street.  The city installed substantial, movable bollards to block off vehicular traffic. Interesting enough, the bollards were mounted upon in-ground tracks, allowing them to be adjusted for presumably emergency vehicle access.  If you have never been to the French Quarter of New Orleans, it is worth the trip, if for no other reason than to see the vast array of diverse humanity—a people-watchers paradise.  To say the least, there are some very intriguing characters from locals to visitors.

Aspen chose our supper establishment—Oceana Grill, 739 Conti Street, French Quarter, just off Bourbon Street. We ordered a good spread of offerings.  I chose the daily special, which was blackened Whitefish over cornbread stuffing and topped with lightly sautéed shrimp.  The chef used ample red pepper sauce during his preparation.  Most intriguing, perhaps, were the cooked mustard greens—actually quite yummy.  Good choice Aspen Shae.  If anyone would appreciate a recommendation, I would enthusiastically recommend the Oceana Grill for great seafood.

I am not much of a crowd person, so Jeanne and I used Burgundy Street, a quiet street a couple of blocks north of Bourbon Street, rather than brave the crowd of people that meander down the whole of Bourbon Street and made our way back to the hotel.  Aspen and Jazelle wanted to experience a little of the evening hubbub of Bourbon Street; so, against my better judgment, they remained to experience the unique aspects of the heart of the French Quarter.  It was a warm, not quite hot, and very humid evening.

After our de-greasing and the relaxation of just sitting, the girls arrived back at the hotel, having been sated of the crowds.  We all retired.  As the young are want to do, the girls watched video programs on their phones, while Jeanne and I disappeared into the neverneverland of welcome sleep.

Day 0 

[E-Day]

New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America:

Sunday, 2.June.2019; 12:30 [S] CDT:

Embarkation Day.

While I rose comparatively late by my usual practice, I did some early morning writing on the Update and other projects before the ladies woke. We got going about mid-morning. We took a taxi from the hotel to the ship terminal in time to make our early boarding window.

Well, we were not impressed with the cruise terminal provisions.  We have traveled with Carnival Cruise Lines before, so I do not think it was a product of the ship per se, but rather the terminal.  The traffic management in the vicinity of the terminal was terrible, partially due to ongoing road construction, but also as a consequence of inadequate facilities, poor scheduling of arrivals, and non-existent control.  It was nearly every man for himself, which is never good for orderly logistics.  The baggage handler who greeted us had no identification, or identifying markings or attire.  He seemed to know what he was doing. Fortunately for us, he was what he acted to be.  We had our wine checked to make sure it was of proper size (750 ml) and completely sealed with the original seal.  As we went to the registration desk, we were informed that our information was incomplete, which I found very hard to believe.  It was not until the desk agent checked our computer file and told us our country of residence had been marked Afghanistan.  No wonder they balked.  There is a debriefing point with the travel agent who booked our cruise.  My guess is one of those drop-down menu selections listed the United States at the top and all other nations below in alphabetical order, and she inadvertently clicked the one just below the correct selection.  It was sorted out; just caused a hiccup in the process; the remainder was swift and easy.

We boarded the MV Carnival Glory on time.  We paid the modest extra fee to board early and avoid the crowds—no joy! We needed a rather circuitous route to make it to our cabins, but we did make it and they were ready for us. We dropped our carry-on bags and made it one deck up to the Lido Deck.  This is where we faced reality.  We had hoped to enjoy lunch before most of the passengers arrived—again, no joy!  It took us an inordinate amount of time to find an open table. Added to the frustration, far too many people were not eating and simply waiting in an air-conditioned space until their rooms would be ready.  By the time we got lucky, being in the right place at the right time with a vacating couple, we were not in the mood to explore the food court’s offerings.  We wanted to simply eat something and move on.

We were nearly an hour late casting off and setting sail for reasons unknown. The ship used its bow and stern thrusters to push away from the dock, and then swing the nose to port into the river current.  In short order, the ship headed downstream and the New Orleans skyline diminished astern.  

I eagerly awaited the transit down the Mississippi River out into the Gulf of Mexico.  The initial river transit portion of the cruise took the better part of eight hours, since the twists and turns of the meandering river dictated a prudent speed.  The most notable observation beyond the sea of green on both sides of The Big Muddy was the stack up of ships and barges along both banks of the river.  At first, I thought it very odd seeing a lash-up of six barges with a river barge tug pushing the assembly into the trees on the bank and against the current.  As I saw more and more of those sights, and then eventually a line of perhaps several dozen anchored freighters, tankers and bulk cargo ships, I began to see those oddities as an indicator of trouble upstream.  The best I could guess was, they were ordered to hold in place due to the extraordinary flooding up-river and the likely closing of ports and navigable waterways.  The river was quite high on the lower Mississippi, but no detectable signs of levee breaches or flooding could be seen.  The transit went on through our evening meal, beyond sunset and into the night. As we went to bed, we still had several hours to go by my calculation.  I wanted to see the mouth of the river where the silt dissipates and gives way to the blue of the Gulf of Mexico, but sleep was more important, so I missed it. Bummer!

Day 1 

At Sea, Gulf of Mexico:

Monday, 3.June.2019:

As is my penchant these days, I woke before dawn and set about writing for the day.  I have several projects in play beyond this humble forum, so I had plenty to work on.  I use the word work loosely since I truly enjoy the writing process.

We were on a beeline course to the western cape of Cuba before rounding the bend to Jamaica.  We were doing 18 knots, which reminded me that the critical speed for convoys during World War II and the Battle of the Atlantic were 12 knots to minimize the threat of German U-boats.  The best speed of a submerged U-boat was roughly 8 knots, and their torpedoes were straight-line weapons rather than guided or homing weapons as they are today.  Just another little historic tidbit, history recorded several episodes of U-boats caught lurking at the mouth of the Mississippi River, presumably with the mission of sinking a few ships coming or going and shutting down the massive river commerce from the heartland of the United States.  History also recorded, the Germans were not successful.

The weather about as close to perfect as one can get, I do believe. I watched cumulous clouds trying to find sufficient energy to grow into their big brother.  They were universally unsuccessful, which was good news for us.  The sea was quite calm and undisturbed, perhaps sea state 2, or 3, if I wanted to be critical.

The first of two “formal” night evening meals was most enjoyable—delicious prime rib for Jeanne and a nice, modest-sized lobster tail for moi.  We even had a rather unique rendition of “Happy Anniversary” sung by the wait staff.  Jeanne and I are approaching our 35^th Anniversary.

The girls went to the onboard casino for some entertainment. Gambling is not my thing, so I plunked out words until Jeanne returned, and then we went to bed.

Day 2 

At Sea, Caribbean Sea:

Tuesday, 4.June.2019:

We passed from the Central to the Eastern Time Zone before we reached the western tip of Cuba.  Oddly, the ship chose not to change ship’s time.  I am not sure how that will work, but we will soon find out.

Nothing quite like sunrise at sea.

Today was another laid back day.  The sea had slightly larger, long period swells than the gulf had, but the ship still rode evenly with essentially no roll or pitch motion. You could feel the ship ‘wiggle’ now and then, as the stabilizers moved to keep the ship level.

We went topside around midday, so the ladies could lay out in the nice induced breeze and burn their skin, while I sat in the shade of an overhang and read a good book.  In case anyone who reads this might be interested in the book, I am nearly finished with “Parham’s Mill” by Karen D. McIntyre . . . very well done . . . different from my usual fare, but a most welcome deviation.  It is an interesting story of a pack of ‘shifters,’ who can transform themselves at will from human to wolf form in either direction.  To me, it was a surprisingly spiritual story of good and bad.  I highly recommend “Parham’s Mill” to anyone who likes a great story well told.

Day 3 

Montego Bay, Saint James, Cornwall, Jamaica:

Wednesday, 5.June.2019; 07:30 ship’s time; 08:30 [R] EDT:

We docked at the Montego Bay Terminal Building and Shopping Mall (such as it is).  We ate breakfast with Aspen and Jazelle, and then the young ladies headed out for a river tubing and beach excursion.  The old folks took a “Hop-On, Hop-Off” shuttle bus for a brief tour of the northwest coastal part of the island.

The hills of the island provided sufficient lifting to generate afternoon rain showers and even a few thunderstorms.  The local variety was not supercell monsters like the Great Plains experiences every spring, but they were big enough to generate lightning and the associate thunderclap and downpour.  After all, rain is what keeps the island so green and lush.

The girls reported having a great time with the river rafting and beach excursion, although the bus ride back over a narrow, twisting, bumpy, mountain road proved a little too much.  Jazelle was all wore’d out and passed on the evening meal.

Apparently, any confusion between local time and ship’s time did not result in any missed movement tardiness.  I noticed a dozen or so passengers who were late to the onboard time, but well ahead of the cast off time of 17:00 (ship’s time).  Every time I watched these massive ships maneuver in tight spaces I am truly amazed.  All of the dock lines are withdrawn in quick secession.  They use their powerful bow and stern thrusters to push the ship away from the dock, and then precisely maneuver the ship in a comparatively tight space until we are headed directly out the channel.  The main engines took us out the channel, past the outer buoy, and then turned to our course for the next port of call and accelerated to 17 knots.

Day 4 

George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands British Overseas Territory:

Thursday, 6.June.2019; 07:30 ship’s time; 08:30 [R] EDT:

Today is the 75^thcommemoration of the Normandy landings as American, British and Canadian infantry and armor divisions began the execution of Operation OVERLORD—the invasion of occupied France and the final defeat of Nazi Germany.

We enjoyed breakfast with Aspen and Jazelle.  The plan for the day called for the younger ladies to embark on a ship-sponsored excursion for a parasailing adventure.  Aspen was apprehensive, but they were off.  The old folks took the tender shuttle to shore at George Town for a walkabout and lookie-see.

We stood off George Town and the crew used the ship’s thrusters to maintain his assigned station.  The last Carnival Caribbean cruise we took [390; 31.May-7.June.2009] (Aspen was just 12 years old).  As we cleared the bow, I noticed that neither anchor had been deployed to hold position.  I could not believe a ship’s captain would commit to constantly using the ship’s propulsion to maintain station, but that is exactly what he did.  The ship’s Map Channel indicated our position in 750 meters of water that I found very hard to believe.  A Celebrity cruise ship pulled in after us, and he dropped his starboard anchor, so they must have been in a shallower part of the harbor.  I was suspicious of the depth indication, since it suggested a heck of a drop-off in the ocean floor fairly close to shore.  Nonetheless, I am but a humble and curious observer, and reporter.

The last tender shuttle from shore departed at 15:15 and dropped off the last few passengers a few minutes later.  The ship turned in place and made way from Grand Cayman, turning to a course of 296º and accelerating to 20 knots bound for Cozumel, Mexico.

Our second of two formal dinners happened this night.  The filet mignon and jumbo shrimp were delicious. Aspen and Jazelle recounted their experience on the excursion.  While they were initially apprehensive, they soon began to enjoy the sights they saw while aloft under the parachute canopy 400 feet above the water.  A mother and daughter who followed Aspen and Jazelle did not meet the minimum weight threshold, so Jazelle volunteered to go with the daughter, so she clearly enjoyed the adventure.

Day 5 

Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico:

Friday, 7.June.2019; 10:00 ship’s time; 11:00 [R] EDT:

We docked with three other cruise ships in port, two of which were Carnival sister ships—MV Carnival Freedom and MV Carnival Miracle.  We actually turned and backed into our dock between the two sister ships that were docked bow first . . . pretty impressive ship handling, if you choose to ask an apprentice.  After all, I am a proud ‘grad-gee-at’ of the Little Boys Boat and Barge School.

The eastern portion of Yucatan, including Cozumel and Cancun, chose to remain in the Eastern Time Zone, although geographically in the Central Time Zone along with the majority of Mexico.

We all agreed to a beach club.  The ship-sponsored excursion took us by taxi to the Uvas Beach Club resort for an afternoon of sand, water and Sun.  Being Sun-averse these days, I had to lather up my exposed flesh with SPF (infinity) sunblock and find shade from the intense Sun, which I did. The waterline was a bit rocky, so we were relegated to use a constructed wooden ramp to get to the water. The water was near perfect—not too warm, not too cool—just right, very refreshing.  By the way, Crocs make great floats, especially in salt water. It was so peaceful and serene that I could actually doze while floating on the water.  They had water sports available, although I was quite content floating.  The young ladies did some paddle-boarding, which was fun to watch them learn and quickly achieve success.  Toward the end of our four-hour period, our hosts offered a tequila tasting event that was entertaining, informative and quite enjoyable—good stuff actually, Blue Agave Tequila.

The young ladies decided they wanted supper at Margaritaville rather than on the ship.  It would be a falsehood if I tried to claim I was not concerned, but I am also old enough to recognize my own limitations.  They are also both adults.  As it turned out, they did not find the menu enticing, so they enjoyed a drink with their friends and returned to the ship in plenty of time.

Day 6 

At Sea, Gulf of Mexico:

Saturday, 8.June.2019:

We finally passed back into the Central Time Zone, so ship’s time and local time were back in synch.

On this passage through the Gulf of Mexico, the sea was more disturbed with our first white-caps and larger swells; sea state appeared to be in the 4 or 5 range.  The contrast between the same spot of sea on Day 1 and today was rather dramatic.

This was a nice laid-back day.  The ladies had planned to go topside for more sun (I’m not sure why), but overcast and high wind over the deck denied them that time.  I spent most of the day writing.

Rambunctious pre-teens created a sufficient disturbance outside the compartment just forward of us that I had to step out into the passageway, scold them for their lack of respect, and chase them off.  They got the message.  They were apparently trying to drag another boy out of the adjacent compartment against his will; for what reason, I do not know and did not much care.  I just wanted quiet.

The water transitioned from the blue of the Gulf of Mexico to green during the approach to the river.  We picked the river pilot circa 21:00 and passed the outer buoy, so technically we entered the Mississippi River.  The water was the characteristic muddy brown.  Unfortunately, sunset and evening twilight had passed.  Once again, I missed the river entrance sights.  Bummer, again!

We passed MY Carnival Valorclose aboard to port just after we entered the Mississippi River Channel.  They were outboard on their cruise. There was cheering and hollers from both ships as we passed circa 21:50.  Our docking time is planned for 08:00 tomorrow morning, so the river transit will take approximately 10 hours going upstream at 10 knots.

We packed our bags and placed them outside our compartment in the passageway for the crew to move and stage for rapid off-loading after docking.  Packing for home is a lot easier and less time-consuming, but I suppose all fellow travelers know that reality.

I woke at 04:00, as is common for me in these later stages of life, and checked out progress.  We were 20 or so miles from New Orleans, doing 12.7 knots, which indicated we would probably dock early.  We are ready to go home.

In the darkness of pre-dawn, many of the more distant lights sparkled with un-seeable occultations.  The scene was really quite majestic and fascinating to watch.  The significant stack of ships and barges still parked along the riverbanks remains quite staggering; ships on the west bank, barges on the east bank, for the most part.  Perhaps this many vessels holding for movement upriver are normal; I have no way to judge, but it definitely seems quite abnormal to me—the amount of money sitting idle is mind-boggling.  If my guess is correct, nature exacts a very heavy price at times.

We docked at the New Orleans Cruise Terminal at 06:30—well ahead of schedule. The transit of the lower Mississippi River took not quite 10 hours.  The total distance traveled during this cruise was 2248 nautical miles.

Day 7 

[D-Day]

New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America:

Sunday, 9.June.2019; 08:15 [S] CDT:

Debarkation Day.

Perhaps you can imagine 2,500 people trying to get off the ship and disperse to the four winds.  Despite some early concerns, Carnival and the New Orleans Terminal managed the process exceptionally well.  We retrieved our baggage, cleared immigration and customs, and boarded the ship-sponsored transportation bus by 08:30.  The bus departed on time at 08:45.  We dropped one couple off at the edge of the French Quarter, since they were taking a later flight.  The bus driver was a former Army soldier, whose primary job was working for the USG at the VA Hospital New Orleans.  He provided a remarkably interesting commentary on the cities between the ship terminal and the airport, which is actually in Kenner, Louisiana. Nice man; I thanked him for his service to this Grand Republic.  We provided a graphic demonstration of why TSA Pre-check is such a good deal for airline travel.  Jeanne and I simply had to empty our pockets of metal objects; we did not have to take our shoes off or otherwise disrobe, or remove my laptop from the bag.  Aspen and Jazelle did not have TSA Pre-check; it took them 20 minutes longer with all the associated extra requirements.  We enjoyed a nice leisurely brunch at Terminal D and settled in for our four-hour wait at the departure.  I found a convenient plug, so here I am plunking away on this Update.

Atlanta, Fulton, Georgia, United States of America:

Sunday, 9.June.2019; 17:55 [R] EDT:

The four of us arrived slightly ahead of schedule.  Our two groups had two hours –plenty of time—to make our connections.  As soon as we got our cellphones activated, Aspen announced their flight had been delayed four (4) hours [their aircraft had been delayed earlier due to weather], which meant they had six (6) hours to wait for their aircraft taking them to Dallas-Fort Worth.  We shared some additional time together at our departure gate, only to learn that our flight had been delayed 30 minutes as a consequence of weather as well.  As our boarding time arrived, we said good-bye to Aspen and Jazelle.  We were on our way for our next-to-last leg.

Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona, United States of America:

Sunday, 9.June.2019; 20:30 [T] MST (PDT):

We arrived on time to the modified plan, retrieved our bags, found the car, and headed home, blessed with light traffic.

Fountain Hills, Maricopa, Arizona, United States of America:

Sunday, 9.June.2019; 22:25 [T] MST (PDT):

We are finally back home with our excited dogs.  We sure did miss them and were probably more excited to see them than they were to see us.

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)