The Hobbit Update

I haven't posted an update on here about The Hobbit movie in a long while so I thought I'd post a few comments about it. The movie is apparently progressing well. On December 24th, Peter Jackson released the 5th production video that shows them leaving for their first outside shoot outside Mata Mata where the Bag End set is located. Elijah Wood speaks on the video about his feelings about coming back to the set. It's been 11 years since he went to New Zealand to shoot the Lord of the Rings movies. Jackson himself remarks how unreal it was for him to see the set he never expected to see again. One interesting difference this time is that once shooting is finished on the Bag End set, all the buildings will remain so people can visit for many years to come. I for one would love to see this extraordinarily beautiful set and feel like I visited Hobbiton and Bag End.

Another noteworthy event concerning The Hobbit movie was the release of the first movie trailer on December 21st. The trailer was fascinating and enticing. We got to see a number of the actors playing their Dwarven characters including the one playing Thorin Oakenshield (looks awesome). At the end, we see a familiar creature whose meeting with Bilbo Baggins at an underground lake would have consequences that would change Middle Earth forever.

My only disappointment is that I'll have to wait almost an entire year (the first movie comes out December 13th, 2012) before I get to see the movie. This is one movie I will be very excited about. If you wish to see the production video and trailer I mentioned, you can find them at: http://www.wetanz.com/the-hobbit-movies-latest-updates/ Also, Facebook is a good place to follow the latest news on the movies. Peter Jackson has been awesome about posting updates there. Cheers.

Fisher Space Pen Review

This past Christmas, Pen Boutique offered a Fisher Space Pen and Maglight gift set for $15. If I remember correctly, they claimed that was 50% off. I thought that sounded like a good deal. Whats more, the pen supposedly could write in all kinds of temperatures and, you could write upside down with it. Supposedly, astronauts had used the pen because of that.

While I don't need to write upside down, I do have customers that could use a pen that would write on a piece of paper they were holding against a wall or door. Many times, the cheap Bic pens I carry with me stop writing. Also, the Bic pens I use don't seem to like the cold either. So, I decided to buy a couple of the Fisher Space Pens and see how well they work.

So far, I've been very pleased with the pens. For shits and grins, I did try writing something upside down and, the pen worked fine. Also, I took it outdoors and had customers try it. None of them had any problems. According to the products package advertising, the pen will write in temperatures from -30F to 250F. While I don't expect to encounter any conditions that bad. The pen does seem to work fine in the cold. One drawback I've seen to the pen is the refills are expensive. You can expect to pay $5 a piece for one though Fisher claims the refills will write 2 to 3 times longer than a normal pen. As I've just started using their pens, I have no idea if that claim is true.

My recommendation is that if you need a reliable pen that can handle the weather (supposedly you can write underwater with it too though to me that means I can write in the rain with it) and write any time you need it to, the Fisher Space Pen may be what you're looking for. I think it would definitely be worth a try. Cheers all.

Update February 2, 2014: I continue to use Fisher Space pens at my job. The pens continue to prove their worth. This past week, the temperature got down to 15F. My normal pens were acting up but, my Fisher Space pens kept right on trucking. The only problem I have with the pens is making sure I don't lose them. I've had it where I've accidentally left them with a customer. 

2012 Yamaha TMAX

I've been a big fan of Yamaha's TMAX maxi-scooter since I bought my 2009 TMAX. Each year, I search the internet to find out what changes they'll be making to the bike. For 2012, they made some considerable changes. For starters, it will get a slightly more powerful engine. The size will increase to 530cc vice the previous 499cc. To me, this change is a major disappointment. I was hoping for a TMAX that would have a 750cc engine. There were considerable rumors that such a bike was in the works. Sadly, those rumors proved false. The bike supposedly has a more comfortable seat (someone apparently noticed that the previous seat wasn't very comfortable especially after a long ride on the bike), a redesigned instrument panel, different lights and a different drive chain. Also, the bike has a more rugged look. From what I've seen on the internet, it looks like a nice motorbike but, all the improvements in my opinion aren't enough to get me to trade in my current TMAX. Still, I hope that Yamaha will come out with a more powerful TMAX. That would get me to want to trade in my current TMAX. We'll see what Yamaha ends up doing.

Baltimore Cruise Ship Terminal

I've been seriously looking at Royal Caribbean's cruises out of Baltimore. Royal Caribbean has a really nice cruise on their Enchantment of the Seas that sails to Bermuda and Boston. You get to stay in port overnight in both ports and, you have just 3 days at sea - 1 day to get to Bermuda, 1 day to get to Boston and 1 day getting back to Baltimore. Another plus for me travel wise is that I wouldn't have to fly any where to get to this cruise ship terminal. I live outside Baltimore but, it's a very easy drive to get to. So, I decided I'd ride my Yamaha TMAX down to the cruise ship terminal and find out how easy or hard it is to get to the terminal.

I hopped on the Baltimore Washington Parkway (I-295) heading to Baltimore. Then, when I reached Interstate 95 (I-95), I switched over to I-95 North heading to New York City. At this point, it was a very short drive before I had to take exit 55 (last exit before you have to pay the toll and go through the harbor tunnel). The exit sign said Fort McHenry and something else. The exit will put you on what I believe is East McComas Road. I drove along this not sure how far I'd have to drive though I knew the road would eventually end at Fort McHenry. After Fort McHenry, you hit water.

Before I got to the terminal, I could tell I was going the right way as I saw a Carnival cruise ship (Carnival Pride) in port. Baltimore has only 1 cruise ship terminal so I knew I was going the right way. I drove along and sure enough, I soon spotted the entrance to the terminal. The terminal isn't super big. I read on the internet that it's a converted warehouse. However, as far as I can tell, it should be able to do the job. I don't believe any of the cruise lines send any of their really big ships to Baltimore. The Enchantment of the Seas is a Vision class ship which is Royal Caribbean's 2nd smallest class of ship (only their Sovereign class is smaller).

The terminal has secure parking however, there is a $15 a day charge for it (source: http://www.cruise.maryland.gov). There are hotels that offer stay 1 night and, you can park and leave your car in their lot during your cruise. However, these might not be cheaper than the parking.

Overall, I found the cruise ship terminal very easy to get to. I hope to take cruise out of the terminal in April 2013. If I get to go then, I'll do a blog entry on how good or bad the terminal itself is. Happy travels all!

Delta Airmiles

I have over 54,000 airmiles with Delta Airlines. I found out that Delta has a non-stop from New York JFK Airport to Venice, Italy. I figured that there wouldn't be a huge demand for flights to Venice the beginning of November. I figured wrong apparently. I spoke with a Delta rep to see if I could get a guaranteed upgrade to Venice. To my disappointment, I couldn't. All she could do was put a trailer on it stating I wanted one. No dice. If I can't get the upgrade, I'm going to fly with whoever is CHEAPEST and stay overnight in Venice before the cruise. After the lady said she couldn't guarantee me an upgrade, she tried to sell me Delta's charge card. I could earn 30,000 bonus airmiles with it the first year. If I can't get the upgrades I want, the airmiles are worthless to me. Why spend $95 a year for the charge card for worthless airmiles? This is why I cancelled my British Airways and American Airlines charge cards. The airlines are trying to push a product that they turn around and make impossible to use. If their frequent flier programs aren't worth using, the programs are a joke and definitely won't create any kind of customer loyalty. In my case, price will now be the key factor. I won't care what airline I fly on as long as it's the cheapest to get me where I need to go.

Broken Crown

While on my 2nd of back-to-back cruises with Royal Caribbean this past November, I bit into something that didn't agree with the crown I had put in a year ago. I don't know how I did it but, I managed to crack the thing. It didn't hurt thankfully. It would have been a royal mess trying to find a dentist in one of the Caribbean islands I was visiting as well as get all the work done in the time I had in each port.

So, I made an appointment with Dr. Mitchell Weiner. Dr. Weiner is a general dentist who specializes in various dental procedures like crowns. He was the one who carved the tooth to where it could accept having a crown put over it and then, he placed and sealed it on the tooth. This past September, I saw him again when I started suffering some pain with the tooth. Initially, it looked like I would need a very expensive root canal done. That's where they drill through the crown, remove all the infected root pulp, fill the empty space with some kind of sealant and seal the tooth. I was very hesistant about having this done and, I wanted to see if antibiotics could clear up the infection. Antibiotics would've been a lot cheaper. Also, I wanted to have one of the dentists take the crown off to make sure the tooth root was infected. I wasn't able to get the crown removed but, the antibiotics apparently worked though I did wonder about the tooth in way i.e. was the infection really gone or was I possibly going to have worse trouble down the line with the tooth.

Wednesday of last week, I got to see Dr. Weiner who looked in astonishment at what I'd done. He asked how did I crack the thing. I told him, I honestly don't know. I don't remember what I bit into that cracked the crown. He said I had 2 choices. They could attempt to remove the broken crown and have it repaired or I could get a totally new crown. Repairing the crown was the cheaper option as that would cost approximately $800. A new crown would be twice that i.e. $1,600. Serious ouch!!!!! I said I'd like to get it repaired. The next step was getting the thing off the tooth. That ended up being a serious job. I found out why Dr. Weiner didn't remove the crown before when I was looking at possibly having a root canal done. When they put a crown on your tooth, they don't intend for it to EVER come off.

First, Dr. Weiner attempted to pry the crown off with a pair of dental pliers that they normally use for removing teeth (shivers). That didn't work. Then, we tried using some SUPER sticky gook that I had to bit into so the suction from the gook would cause the crown to come off. That didn't work either. Dr. Weiner isn't a quitter and, he had one last trick up his dental sleeve. He has a device that a dental hammer of sorts. You attach it to the tooth then, he hits a rod real hard with his hand and, it whacks the tooth. Pieces of porcelain from the crown began to break off. After 3 or 4 whacks, Dr. Weiner removed the device and tried to take the broken crown off. It came off.

The broken crown was taken to where ever they had the crowns made and, it was subsequently repaired to where it looked as good as new. Then, I went back a 2nd time where the repaired crown was placed on the tooth root stump and sealed again. As far as I can tell, the repaired crown is working. I'm not experiencing any pain though I do think the teeth on the left side of my mouth had to move some of accomodate the repaired crown.

Next Wednesday, I'll see Dr. Weiner again for a quick check up on the crown. As far as I can tell, it's working fine and, he shouldn't have to do any thing with it. While I wasn't thrilled with cracking the thing and the subsequent cost ($879). However, I was pleased in one regard. As I mentioned previously, I'd wondered if I was making a mistake by not getting the root canal done. To my relief, when the damaged crown came off, Dr. Weiner was able to examine the root stump and, he said it was completely fine. To make sure it stayed that way, he put some medication on the stump before he put the repaired crown on. In that way, this whole fiasco has been worth it.

British Airways and Avios Points

Next November, I'll be taking back-to-back cruises with Royal Caribbean for the 2nd time. I decided to see just which airport I was likely to fly out of: Baltimore Washington International or Washington Dulles. I found out for flights ultimately ending in Venice, Italy which where the 2 cruises will start from, Dulles would be at least $300 cheaper. Another attraction of flying out of Dulles was that I could use the 200,000 plus airmiles now called Avios points. British Airways made a big thing about the change over to the new points. I would find out they didn't change anything when it came to trying to use them.

I figured I should have a good shot at either getting a free Business Class ticket or paying cash and getting a guaranteed upgrade to Business Class since I was going to book the flights 10 months out. Why is Business Class so important to me? Because I know I can get some sleep in those seats. I can't sleep for crap in Economy seats. To my surprise, I couldn't get a free seat on the dates I needed to fly out and, I couldn't get a guaranteed upgrade with cash. This reminded me of the fiasco I had when I tried to get a free seat to Copenhagen and back from Oslo in connection with a Globus tour I was planning to take of Scandanavia (Denmark, Sweden and Norway). I couldn't get a free seat then and, that wasn't the last time I had this problem. I was so pissed off by the experience I cancelled my British Airways Visa charge card. I told the lady at the charge card center there wasn't any point in having the card and paying the yearly charge if I couldn't use the airmiles when I wanted. Keep in mind too that even if you managed to get free seats, British Airways made you pay a stiff fee of supposed taxes. When I did to fly Business Class to Paris in advance of the Globus La France tour I took, I had to pay British Airways over $700 for my supposedly free ticket. British Airways claimed this was a deal. In my opinion, no it wasn't considering what I had to do just to earn the airmiles. By the way, concerning the Paris tickets, I got lucky to get those as it turned out after I booked the ticket British Airways changed their flights making it impossible for me to get back. Luckily for me, I didn't find out till I finished the tour and arrived at Charles de Gaulle ready to leave only to find out I wasn't. Thanks to a great and understanding British Airways ticket rep, I did make it home. However, if I had found out about the change, I might not have been able to use my airmiles AGAIN. grrrrrrr

This latest fiasco over trying to use the new Avios points has guaranteed I won't be flying British Airways when I travel to Venice. Also, to add further fury, I found out that in the new great Avios system British Airways came out, they devalued their airmiles AGAIN. According to Tim Winship at Frequentflier Blog (http://blog.frequentflier.com) on November 17, 2011, the new Avios points will be yet another devaluation i.e. it'll cost even more points/airmiles for many U.S. travellers who want to use them on British Airways. I haven't forgotten when British Airways devalued my airmiles back in 2006. Their reason then was they wanted to get all their U.S. members on par with other members in other countries. Apparently, British Airways wanted to value us as little as they did their other members worldwide. Now, they've put the screws to its U.S. Executive Club members again.

Because of this latest devaluation, I know what I'll be doing. Once I can travel again (sometime in April 2013), I'll book whatever flights I can where I can get a free ticket with British Airways just so I can use up my Avios points. Once I do that, I won't be flying British Airways again. They've stuck it to me too many times. I would advise other U.S. travellers to do the same. Happy travels all.

Travel Update

I promised to post updates on my back-to-back cruises with Royal Caribbean but, I didn't. I want to use my expensive Royal Caribbean WiFi minutes trying to post something. I am back from the cruises. The 2 cruises were a lot of fun. I got to see St. John (USVI), St. Kitts, Aruba, Curacao, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten and the French side St. Martin and St. Croix. Travel highlights include a really fun tour called Taste of Barbados where I got to visit a Bajan rum distillery then, the group travelled to a nearby plantation mansion where we were shown how to make 2 drinks: corn & oil and a Bajan rum punch. Our teacher let us enjoy a LOT of free samples. I know I was half sloshed by the time I returned to the Serenade of the Seas.

Another tour I enjoyed was a walking tour of Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The guide was Heavenly Petersen. The lady did a fantastic job. I learned some interesting things about the island and about one of the founding fathers of the United States i.e. Alexander Hamilton. He lived in St. Croix for 8 years but, he never talked about it apparently when telling of his early life. From what Heavenly told us, our group could understand why (his mother was a convicted adulteress for starters).

The ship Serenade of the Seas was great. It has a first rate crew and lots to do on-board. I got to try the automatically adjusting pool tables. They really worked. The ship moved a lot at times but, the balls on the pool tables didn't. The food was very good and overflowing in abundance. My 2 cabin stewards kept the 2 cabins I stayed in immaculate. I would definitely recommend this ship. I was sad when it was time to leave. I could have happily done another 2 cruises on her.

Overall, I had a really nice time. I can't wait to do back-to-back cruises with Royal Caribbean. That'll be next November when I sail with them out of Venice en-route to the Greek Islands. We'll see if they look as good in real life as they do in the pictures. Happy travels all.

Tooth Infection

Last week, I noticed a slight pain in the upper left part of my jaw. I wondered if one of my upper wisdom teeth were moving. I still have both of my upper wisdom teeth. When I was in the Air Force, I saw a dentist about my wisdom teeth. She decided to remove all 4. However, she had such a hard time with my 2 lower teeth that she left the 2 upper ones in. After 3 days of slight pain, I decided it was time to call Batz & Weiner to see someone and find out what the problem was. Yesterday, I ended up seeing Dr. Weiner who did my crown last year. He told me it wasn't my wisdom teeth. I have pulpitis which is an infection of the pulp inside the tooth. Ironically, it was the same tooth he gave me a crown for. He subsequently prescribed me antibiotics to treat the infection and referred me to the practice's root canal specialist. I'll get to see that person tomorrow. I know the tooth's nerve is still very much alive because when I drink anything cold, I can feel it in the tooth. So, the specialist should be able to save the tooth and, I hope re-use the crown they made last year. We'll see. Stay tuned.

Luggage Tags

Today, I requested my luggage tags from Royal Caribbean for my 2 upcoming cruises. The tags enable the ship's personnel to efficiently deliver my bag to the right cabin. They show my ship's name, the date I'm sailing, what area of the ship my cabin is in and the cabin number. Also, they have some kind of color code though I don't know what each color means. For me, they're another step closer to my next cruise adventure. I don't order the tags till I'm starting to get close to my sailing date. However, I don't wait till the last minute on this as it takes Royal Caribbean up to 7 business days to deliver the tags. I am curious to see the tags for my 2nd cruise as I want to see if they're any different since my bag won't leave the ship after the 1st cruise. This will be the first time I'll have ever taken back-to-back cruises. Stay tuned for more travel updates. In approximately 40 days, I'll leave for a 2 week adventure where I'll visit 9 islands in 14 days. It should be something.

Uros Indians

One of the most interesting groups I got to learn about while touring Peru with Globus this January was the Uros Indians. The indians history goes back centuries. They were living at Lake Titicaca when the legendary Incas rose to power. The Incas conquered the area and, they demanded the Uros pay either tribute or in labor. The only tribute the Uros could give the Incas was salt which they refused. The Uros refused to work for the Incas so the Incas kicked them off the land. For centuries, the Uros would live on the lake on house boats. Then, at a time where the water was low on the lake, apparently some reeds grew through some lake soil. When the waters rose again, the soil with the reeds floated. These pieces of floating land would form the basis for the Uros man made floating islands which over 1,000 of them live on today as you can see in these pictures. The first pictures shows how the Uros build their islands. They constantly replenish the reeds on the islands so their islands don't fall apart. The second picture shows the colorful dress of Uros women. Men typically wear colorful hats as seen in the first picture. The last picture shows a uniquely Uros way of raising guinea pigs which are raised for food. In this case, the Uros built a small island within their main island for their guinea pigs to live. Presumably, the guinea pigs can't swim so the water makes a very effective gate to keep their guinea pigs in one place.

Summer Fresh Tuscan Bean Salad Review

Occasionally, I'll get an itch to try a product I haven't tried before. Such was the case with Summer Fresh's Tuscan Bean Salad. The Arundel Mills Costco had a 2 pound plastic tub of Summer Fresh's Tuscan Bean Salad for sale for $6 or $7 (not sure on the exact price). I decided to try it. The salad turned out to pretty good. It has barley, navy beans, chickpeas (also known as garbanzos), pieces of green pepper, red pepper, green onions and canola oil. A 1/2 cup serving contains 140 calories and will provide 5 grams of dietary fiber (20% of the recommended daily intake of dietary fiber). The salad is also high in Vitamin C.

I found the salad tasty. All the ingredients meshed well. Also, the canola oil wasn't overbearing. You didn't get an oily taste with the salad. Based on the dietary information, the salad seems to be a good healthy one. Less than half the calories in a 1/2 cup serving are fat. Also, in my opinion, the salad isn't overly expensive. In regards to where to get it, the only place I know of that sells it is Costco though I'd be willing to bet there are others. If you like bean type salads, this one might be one you might want to try.

Update February 23, 2014: Within the past week, I checked the Costco stores in Elkridge,  Arundel Mills, Beltsville and Wheaton, Maryland for this product. To my disappointment, none of them are carrying it for some reason. I hope it's because they see it as a seasonal item vice permanently dropping it. I plan to check for it again when it gets closer to summer. Stay tuned.

Update February 26, 2014: Add Costco's Glen Burnie, Maryland store to the list of stores NOT carrying Summer Fresh's Tuscan Bean salad. :-( Today, I checked that one while I was out that way and, they didn't have it.

Update April 27, 2014: Thanks to a Eric Coffman, a reader of my blog and commenter, I found out Costco is carrying this salad again. I was able to buy 2 tubs of it at the Arundel Mills Costco for $7.79 each. The product still comes in 2 pound tubs.

Update September 13, 2015: The price of $7.79 for a 2 pound tub of the salad is still good. I bought a tub from the Arundel Mills Costco on September 9, 2015 and, that was the price for it.

Lake Titicaca

Another stunning natural scene I saw during my Globus tour of Peru was Lake Titicaca. The lake is unique in that it is the highest navigable body of water in the world. It's located at 12,500 feet! The lake is over 50 miles long and, I believe over 30 miles wide at its widest point. It's over 900 feet deep at its deepest point. The lake is shared by Peru and Bolivia. While visiting the lake, my tour group got to visit 2 different indians groups that live on it. I'll tell more about them in later blog entries.

Nazca Plain Drawings

One of the most fascinating mysteries of Peru are the famous Nazca plain drawings. The drawings can only be fully seen from up in the air. Some of the drawings stretch for miles. While there are a number of trapezoids (shown above) and lines, there are also drawings of a hummingbird (shown above), spider, monkey, dog, whale and an owl/space man as well as others. The drawings were hacked out of the parched soil and because the area gets very little rain, they've endured for centuries. The last accepted theory that I heard as why the drawings were made was that they were appeals or offerings to the mountain gods. The ancient Nazcans believed it was the mountain gods that provided the needed water that they used to grow their crops. All the water in the region came from the mountains.

These pictures were taken in an airplane I flew on out of Pisac, Peru. The plane flew to the Nazca Plain and descended to 1,800 feet. The aircrew would bank left then right so passengers on both sides of the airplane could get pictures of the various drawings. Due to the tight banking, the airplane ride could be one exciting ride. Still, it was well worth it as it was really something to see these famous mysterious drawings. This was part of my Legacy of the Incas Globus tour which I did in January 2011.

Lima Cathedral

This is a picture of the national cathedral in Lima, Peru. The cathedral was built during colonial times. One particularly noteworthy item about the cathedral is this is where Francisco Pizarro is buried. Pizarro is the man who conquered the Incas and brought down the Incan empire. He did it even though he was horribly outnumbered. He would become richer than he could ever imagine and was made a marquis by the Spanish king. He founded the city of Lima, the city of kings on January 18, 1535. He was assassinated on June 26, 1541.

Sacsayhuaman

One of the first examples of Incan engineering I got to see in Peru was the remains of the Inca fortress Sacsayhuaman. The fortress was located above the city of Cuzco which was the capital of the Incan empire. The fortress is famous for some of the MASSIVE stones that were built within its walls. Some of the stones weigh over 100 tons. As you can see, the stones were expertly carved and placed to where they interlock perfectly. Keep in mind, the Inca did this with stone chisels. The precision they achieved is incredible. The site of the fortress sadly is but a shade of what it would've looked like in Inca times. After the Spaniards conquered the fortress, they used it as a quarry for stone used in buildings in Cuzco so a LOT of the fortress was torn down over the years. Still, what remains of the great fortress can still impress visitors and give an idea of some of the incredible things the Inca did during their all too brief period of empire.

Machu Picchu

Above is a picture I took of the famous lost Inca city of Machu Picchu. I took the picture as I was coming down from a hike to the Sun Gate. The Sun Gate was one of the primary ways the Incas entered the city of Machu Picchu. The gate is located 990 feet about the city and has stunning views of the city and the valley below. Our local guide Rudy asked how many intrepid souls wanted to try the hike up to the gate. I was 1 of 8 crazies who decided to do it. It was one heck of a hike. It took us at least 2 hours and, I was never so glad to see the top as when I FINALLY reached it. The thinner air really kicked my butt. Still, it was neat doing the hike and, it gave me another memorable adventure on this incredible tour I took of Peru in January.

Bosley

Yesterday, I got to visit the Washington D.C. Bosley office for the first time. For those who don't know, Bosley deals with hair restoration. What is that you ask. Hair restoration deals with restoring hair on men who are going bald for various reasons. There are different ways you can deal with balding. There are hair transplants which is the most expensive method. As far as I know, this can cost between $3,000 and $4,000. The reason for that is because you have to transplant a lot of hair to make a noticeable difference in the balding area. 5 or 6 strands of hair isn't going to make much of an impact. Another method is using Rogaine cream. Rogaine can cause new hair growth however, it isn't 100% effective in all men and, it requires to apply it to the area where you want the new hair twice a day. Yet another method is laser comb. Like Rogaine, it isn't 100% effective and, you have to use the comb every other day for at least 10 but no more than 20 minutes. I have 1 of these myself but because of the hassle of using it, I use it off and on. One advantage of the comb is it is a 1 time cost. You pay the $500 plus for it and, that's all you pay. If you take Rogaine, you have to keep getting new cans of it and correspondingly keep shelling out the bucks.

Back to Bosley. Before using Bosley, I used Medical Hair Restoration who I really liked. Sadly, Bosley bought them out. In order to get my Propecia prescription (it requires one) renewed, I needed to see one of their doctors. The doctor I met at Bosley was Dr. Peter Morse. He turned out to be a very nice, informed and helpful doctor. I found out from him how things work with name brand medications and generic with the Food and Drug Administration. By this, I mean he told me what kind of variance you can have with name brand vice generic. In the case of Propecia, if must not go over a 5% variance. If it's a generic of Propecia, it can vary as much as 15%! Obviously, that means you may not be getting the required dose. Worse still, with foreign generics, there isn't any way you can find out just how much of the actual drug you're getting if any at all. I confess I was wondering about that with the Fincom-1 (Indian Propecia generic) I've been taking. You don't want to find out the hard way i.e. your hair starts falling out. Because of our chat, I will be taking more of the name brand Propecia though I wish Merck sold the stuff for less. It isn't a cheap drug.

I was advised I was eligible for hair transplants but, I don't care to spend that much money right now. I did decide to get their hair treatment package. The package includes vitamins which are supposed to be particulary good for your hair, shampoo and conditioner that helps remove DHT (the male hormone that causes baldness) and Rogaine cream. I'm curious to see what if any difference taking these will make. We'll see. I'll post future observations on here after I've given them some time to work.

Overall, the Washington D.C. Bosley practice seemed very knowledgeable and professional. They have very nice offices in Chevy Chase, Maryland with a parking lot right next to their office. I stayed at the Bosley practice for over an hour and, it cost me $3 to park there. I think that charge covered 1 to 3 hours though I'm not 100% certain on that. Getting to their offices can be a bit of a pain as driving through Washington D.C. is never fun. Cheers all!

Local Bus System

This Wednesday, I got to try out the local bus system for the first time. As I mentioned in a previous post, I made the huge mistake of running the battery down on my Yamaha TMAX motorbike. I had no idea how complicated it is to jump start the battery on the bike. It turned out they would have to take the bike's mirrors off, the windshield and the front face plate in order to get to the small battery. This is obviously not something they can easily do on the street. So, my bike was loaded on a truck and taken to the motorcycle dealership where they ended up replacing the dead battery.

Heyser Cycle was as prompt as they could be in fixing the problem with my bike. I say that because right now, they are swamped with work. It's hot; it's sunny; gas is still nearly $4 a gallon so everyone wants to ride their motorbike. Which means, Heyser is loaded with work right now as of course a number of the pesky bikes don't want to run right while the weather is great for riding a motorbike.

2 days after I dropped my bike off at the dealership, they called me and told me it was ready for pick up. Cool. 1 problem, how do I get over there to pick it up? My good friends the Baldons have moved to Bowie. I wasn't about to call them and ask them to drive out to Laurel to get me and then drive me to the dealership. The people I know at work are what I would call semi-friends. We have great times chatting at work and, I am willing to help them out some at work but, I don't have anything to do with them outside work. So, I wasn't about to ask one of them for a ride. I could walk it but, it is over 9 miles to the dealership. I could call a cab but, I haven't forgotten the last fiasco I had with that. So, I looked into the local bus system. It turned out there is a Central Maryland bus system that runs through Laurel and connects with Anne Arundel and Howard County buses. This makes it pretty handy if you don't have access to a car.

The fares on the bus were very reasonable. It cost $1.50 to get to Laurel Mall. From there, I was able to walk the remaining 3 or 4 blocks to Heyser. My only complaint with the system is they didn't have a schedule posted at the bus stop saying when the bus would show up and, you couldn't find out the pick up times on-line either. So, I went out to bus stop and had no idea when the bus would show up. Because of this, I ended up waiting over 25 minutes at the stop in the heat. I wasn't thrilled but, it beat taking a taxi or worse still walking.

That's all on my first experience with the local Laurel, Maryland bus system. It's a decent enough system. It is affordable and, you can get to a lot of places on it with the connecting bus services such as Greenbelt Metro Station, Columbia Mall and Baltimore Washington International Airport. I'm tempted to try to take it to the airport sometime. I figure it would cost me $5 or so to get there vice $35 to use an airport shuttle. We'll see on that. Cheers all!

Arundel Mills Dave & Buster's

Yesterday, I decided to treat myself to a visit at the Arundel Mills Dave & Buster's. It had been over 2 months since my last visit. I enjoy going to the place but finances kept me away. Yesterday, I decided to see if I could add to my ticket horde. I read on Facebook where some person had amassed 1,000,000 tickets. I'd like to do that too though I don't like to think what that would cost me. Dave & Buster's would get big rich of me doing that.

Anyway, I rode my motorbike out there which was fun. Thankfully, Arundel Mills has a special parking spot for motorbikes on that side of the mall. It isn't super big but, it can accomodate at least 10 bikes. I recharged me card with a $100 worth of coins and headed to my favorite game Spin & Win. I'm partial to that game because you have a lot of control over how much you win on it. You don't with a lot of their other arcade games. One catch with the Spin & Win game is that your timing must be spot on. You have a split of second to stop the light on 1 of the 3 1,000 ticket lights. A split of second early or late and you end up with 20 tickets. That's what happened with me a LOT. To my frustration, I would just barely miss it. Still, I managed to hit the thing 5 times and won approximately 10,000 tickets. That takes my ticket horde up to 365,224 tickets. I'm still a long way from accumulating 1,000,000 tickets but, if I keep slogging away, I'll hit eventually. It doesn't hurt that Arundel Mills Dave & Buster's only had one prize I wanted - a steak grilling machine. I'm tempted to buy the thing vice trying to win 1 with tickets. I'm certain it would be cheaper money wise.

Overall, it was a nice visit though I need to do a better job with my timing. Also, there were times when I embarrassingly jumped the gun. I hit the 40 ticket lights a number of times because of that. I look forward to going to the Arundel Mills Dave & Buster's again when they have half price games (I won't go any other time). Cheers all!

Bike Problem

Yesterday, I encountered an unexpected problem with my Yamaha TMAX. I decided to chat with an acquaintance who lives in my neighborhood. I was riding my TMAX at the time. I pulled up to where my acquaintance was working on one of their cars. I turned off the engine on my TMAX BUT, I left the bike's electronics ON. After chatting for about 10 minutes, I tried starting my TMAX only to find out to my dismay that I'd run the battery down so much it couldn't start the bike. The TMAX only has electronic ignition vice having also a kick starter like my previous Vino Classic had. This hadn't been a problem till now.

I let the bike sit overnight hoping the battery would get enough of a charge back that I'd be able to start it in the morning. No such luck. I figured I could get someone from Heyser Cycles to come jumpstart the bike. I found out you don't jumpstart a TMAX and, it isn't easy to charge the battery. For starters, it's a major job to get to the bike's battery. You have to remove the 2 mirrors, the windshield and the front faceplate just so you can get to the battery. Crap!

The solution ended up being getting the bike picked up and taken to Heyser so their mechanics can work on it. To prevent such a major hassle in the future, I found out you can get an electrical connection connected to the battery which leads to a plug that you can connect an extension cord to. What you would do is plug one end of the extension cord into an electrical socket and the other end into electrical lead which goes to the bike's battery. You would let the dead battery charge overnight and presumably the battery would have enough power to start the bike the next morning. Another plus to this electrical plug is that it's not super expensive (at least for the TMAX anyway). So, while Heyser is getting my battery recharged or replaced, I'll had one of these electrical leads installed to so I won't have to go through this again. Lastly, I won't leave the bike's electronics on when I'm not riding it. That way, I won't end up with a dead battery again (hopefully).

Back-to-Back Cruises

I first heard of doing back-to-back cruises during my recent Alaska cruise with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. With the Alaska cruise, I thought it was kind of redundant. You'd do the same cruise only in reverse order ending back in Vancouver. However, with other cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises alternates itineraries between cruises which can make it worthwhiled doing back-to-back cruises. In my case, both of my cruises leave out of San Juan, Puerto Rico (a fantastic place to sail out of, really pretty at night.). I'll be cruising to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Oranjestad, Aruba and Willemstad, Curacao. Normally, I wouldn't care to go back to places I've already visited once cruising BUT, in this case, I won't mind going back to Aruba and Curacao as I didn't see much of either of them during my first visit. I did scuba diving trips on those 2 islands and, the trips took up virtually all the time I had on those islands. I couldn't tell you anything about what those islands have to offer barring some very good scuba diving. So, I'm looking forward to seeing them again. Also, 8 months after I visited Aruba, they opened a Hard Rock Cafe there. Any readers out there know I collect the t-shirts and, I'll be delighted to add the Aruba t-shirt to my collection.

The second cruise stops in Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; St. John's, Antigua; Philipsburg, St. Maarten and St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. This cruise will be neat in that there is just 1 day at sea then, the cruise island hops its way back to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Also, I've never been to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua or St. Croix. On St. Maarten, like Aruba and Curacao, I haven't seen much of it though in this case it was because of a stinker of a deep sea fishing trip I went on which I still haven't forgotten. The captain of the boat was supposed to drop us off at the cruise ship pier and, he didn't. My friend Harvey and I ended up walking nearly 2 miles to get back to the cruise ship pier. We were not happy campers when we made it back.

Another aspect that'll be interesting about doing back-to-back cruises is that there are special procedures for such travellers and, Royal Caribbean has a special department that handles such things as I found out. Apparently, Royal Caribbean's website doesn't like back-to-back cruises. It wouldn't show both of the cruises on My Cruises webpage. I called Royal Caribbean's tech support who referred me to the Back-to-Back cruises department. They got the problem solved eventually. I learned from the man I spoke with that at the end of the first cruise, I'll go to a special waiting area that is just for people doing back-to-back cruises. All people must clear customs when the ship returns to San Juan since they're leaving the ship. However, I won't have to since I won't be leaving. Once everyone has disembarked from the ship, I'll be allowed back on. In regards to my luggage, my suitcase won't ever leave the ship. Instead, it'll be transferred from my first cabin to my second cabin. Due to price differences, I couldn't afford to have a balcony cabin for both cruises. Interestingly, I'll have the same SeaPass for both cruises. Some how, Royal Caribbean will program it to open my first cabin during the first cruise and open the second cabin on the second cruise.

Overall, it should be a really fun adventure barring paying for it. Right now, I owe over $2,700 for the 2 cruises. I'll get them paid off in time though I wish Royal Caribbean didn't demand full payment by 70 days out from your cruise. I suspect that's so they can still sell the cabin if the person backs out. I bet it's still pretty hard to sell cabins for a cruise at the last minute. I know I couldn't take advantage of that. I have to plan my trips at least 6 months in advance. The only reason I was able to break that rule in this case was because I was only adding another week and, it wasn't going to break the bank to add the second cruise. Royal Caribbean was offering a decent price for an Ocean View cabin. We'll see how much I like being enclosed like that. I do like having a balcony cabin. It's awesome to walk out in the morning and watch as your ship sails into port. It was particularly spectacular during the Alaska cruise with the stunning scenery. Stay tuned for more travel adventures all!

Train Ride

Three weeks before I was supposed to on my Alaska cruise, I was checking with my travel agent Joel Mills to make sure everything was in order. I mentioned to him that I didn't see anything marked on my Royal Caribbean cruise page about transfers to the Anchorage International Airport. He said he'd double check on it. It turned out there was some kind of misunderstanding and, I didn't have any arrangements made for getting me from the cruise ship terminal at Seward, Alaska to Anchorage International Airport. Joel found out there were 2 options a) take a bus which took approximately 3 hours and cost approximately $75 or b) take a train which reportedly was very scenic, took an hour longer and cost $25 more. Joel knows me and signed me up for the train. It was a very good choice.

I did a little research on the Internet and found out the cruise ship terminal train station was supposed to be very close by. They weren't kidding. I think I walked no more than 50 feet from the terminal and was able to board my train. The train has wide windows which made it very easy for travellers to see all the stunning Alaskan scenery. During the 4 hour train ride, we'd get to see glaciers, waterfalls, snow covered mountains, tranquil lakes, bald eagles and swift running streams. Also, the train was very convenient in regards to the airport. It pulled up to a landing that connected directly to the airport as well as being close to connections which can take you into Anchorage. My friend Harvey and I would take advantage of this and catch a bus into Anchorage to take in some sightseeing and have a much needed lunch. The train did offer food and drinks at airport prices. No thanks! Another downside to the train was the seats weren't super comfortable. Good luck trying to get some spare z's in those.

Overall, the train from Seward to Anchorage International Airport was a great way to get from the cruise ship terminal to the airport. It enables you to get one last look at the stunning Alaskan countryside. It made a nice finale to my 7 day Alaskan cruise with Royal Caribbean. I would definitely recommend travellers doing an Alaskan cruise out of Seward take this train vice taking the faster and cheaper bus.

Salmon Fishing

One of the things that is typically Alaskan is salmon fishing. The state is known for its salmon and all 5 major species of the fish (Chum, Sockeye, King, Silver and Pink) can be found there. One of the excursions Royal Caribbean Cruises offers on its Alaska cruise is salmon fishing. My last fishing excursion with Royal Caribbean was a fiasco. I went deep sea fishing out of St. Maarten during my first cruise with Royal Caribbean. It cost $200 to go. Out of 6 people on the boat, only 1 of us caught a fish. You can say fishing is always iffy and, I would agree with you. However, the thing that made the trip a fiasco was when the captain of the boat refused to return us to our cruise ship. I ended up walking 2 miles to get back to the ship. As you can see, I didn't forget it. Between not catching a fish and the fiasco of getting back to the boat, I was leery of doing another fishing excursion and yet, it would be neat to go salmon fishing. I checked with folks who actually live in Alaska to find out if the salmon were running during June. They said the king salmon would be. Ok. That sounded like I had a decent shot at catching a fish. According to the description of the excursion (Knudson Cove Salmon Fishing), it sounded like the fishing boat wasn't that far from the cruise ship pier so, I figured it wouldn't be that hard to get back to the ship if I was stranded again plus, I had the local currency i.e. U.S. dollars since the excursion was in Ketchikan, Alaska. So, I signed up.

My travel friend Harvey also signed up for the excursion and, the 2 of us walked off the boat and did a combination lumberjack show and Ketchikan town tour (I'll blog about that later) before returning to the cruise ship pier. Once there, we looked for the sign for our fishing excursion. We found it and to our surprise, there were 46 people that had signed up! On our drive in, I found out how it worked. Apparently, they find out how many people want to go fishing and then, they find the required number of spots of various fishing boats. Then, they notify the captains of the boats they will have so many customers. The people going fishing get assigned randomly to the boats. I would be assigned to the M/V Silver Lady captained by Ivan Leighton.

The M/V Silver Lady was a nice fishing boat as far as I could tell. One interesting aspect of our fishing was we would troll for the salmon. That means, we would regular rods and reels with weights attached to the fishing line that enabled the captain to take the line down to a certain depth (presumably where his fish locator saw where the fish were). Also, it enabled him to space the lines so there was a minimum chance of them getting tangled. There were 5 of us on the boat and, each of us picked our rod that we would watch during the excursion. One tricky thing about trolling was the pull of the boat on the lines caused the rod tips to jerk a lot which to me was a sign of a bite. It seemed a bit tricky trying to figure out when your rod was moving because of the boat vice getting a hit from a fish.

Harvey was the first to get a hit. The way Harvey had to fight to bring his fish in, it looked like it would be a big one. Sadly, it turned out not to be long enough to keep (it has to be 27 inches I believe). Still, it was the biggest fish Harvey had ever caught. After Harvey took a picture of his biggest catch, Captain Leighton removed the fish hook from its mouth and let it go. The second person on the boat to catch a fish was unknown to me. He caught a 14 pound chum salmon which looked enormous. Captain Leighton landed the fish and put it in a cooler filled with ice which was used just for the purpose. The third and last fish our group caught was brought in by me. When the fish struck, I was uncertain I had a bite because of the pull of the boat on the line. I picked up the rod and, the fish struck again. This time, I was pretty certain I had a fish. Captain Leighton told me to set the hook which I subsequently did. Then, the fight ensued to bring the fish in. The fish gave a surprisingly good fight. At times, the line wouldn't come in because of the resistance the fish was giving. Like deep sea fishing, I'd have to raise the rod up to get some slack line to reel in. After possibly 10 minutes of our tug of war, I finally got to see the fish I'd hooked. It looked huge. Captain Leighton identified it as a king salmon, said it was a keeper and broke out the landing net. The fish continued to fight and, the captain had a time landing the fish. Finally, he succeeded and, he put in the cooler with the chum salmon the other fisherman caught. Because I'd caught a king salmon, my fishing was done. The captain had a rule where if you caught one you could keep, you were done. This was to ensure that hopefully everyone caught a fish. Captain Leighton then worked on spotting more fish so that Harvey and the 2 others who hadn't caught one yet could catch their prize fish. Sadly, it wasn't to be. While trolling around, the captain was nice enough to provide some drinks and some delicious salmon dip his wife made.

Our cruise ship was scheduled to set sail from Ketchikan at 4:30 p.m. Captain Leighton tried to give us as much fishing time as he could get away with. Finally, we had to head back Knudson Cove. There, the 2 fish our group had a caught were weighed and, we could get pictures taken with our catch. The chum salmon the unknown fisherman caught came in at over 14 pounds. My king salmon tipped the scales at just over 20 pounds. My salmon had been tagged by some government department who wanted the tag back so they could log the date the fish was caught, where and how much it ended up weighing. Supposedly, I'd be emailed the history of the fish which I thought was interesting.

At this point, you get to decide if you want to keep the fish and if so, how do you want it processed. There are 2 methods. You can get it cut up fresh into weighed packages, frozen and shipped via Federal Express OR, you can get it smoked, cut up into weighed packages and shipped via Federal Express. It costs $3 more a pound to have it smoked. Also, apparently some salmon are better smoked then sent fresh. The person who took processing orders recommended the guy who caught the chum salmon have it smoked while in my case, she recommended I have it prepared fresh. As I don't know diddly about salmon, I took her recommendation.

After we finished the paperwork for the fish processing, we dashed for the bus that would take us back to the cruise ship pier. To the annoyance of the ship, we arrived back 20 minutes late. The ship does have a rule where they can leave you if you are excessively late but, I figured since I was on an excursion sanctioned by the ship, they couldn't blame me for being late and, I didn't think they'd leave me or my friend Harvey. Still, I don't think I've seen the security folks process me back on board the boat as fast they did when we got back from the fishing excursion.

Overall, it was a fun fishing trip. Harvey and I both caught a fish. Also, tt was very scenic as we got to see bald eagles flying around and snow covered mountains in the background. I was surprised by how many fishing boats were out trying to catch fish. I think Captain Ivan Leighton did a bang up job. I'd gladly go fishing again with him. If anyone is interested in contacting the captain about going fishing, leave me a comment and, I'll pass on the information I have from his business card. This is one Alaska experience you should try. Stay tuned for more post on my Alaska adventure.

Hoonah

Yesterday, I visited Hoonah, Alaska. Hoonah is the home to 1,000 Tlingit indians. Hoonah is the primary town on the island though there is a location known as Icy Strait Point. Ice Strait Point features gifts shops, restaurants and desks where visitors can book excursions on the island. The excursions vary from tram tours of the temperate rain forest to whale watching to riding the world's longest and highest zipline. The zipline starts at 1,300 feet (higher than the Empire State Building and runs 5,330 feet.

Not being a daredevil, I did a tour of rainforest, watched a performance of Tlingit songs and dance and did a tour of Hoonah. I found all 3 excursions interesting. My guide for the rainforest was Kerry who was very knowledgeable about the plants, wildlife and life of the Tlingit. She is a Tlingit herself. The island has an abundance of plants that can be eaten for food and used for medicinal purposes. Kerry mentioned a plant called the Devil's Club which can be used in an ointment that helps with joint pain. For a long time, the Tlingit ran the risk of scurvy due to a lack of vitamin c. To fight scurvy, the Tlingit would harvet a fern in the spring time that is rich in vitamin c, cook it and eat it. Other sources of food included salmon, halibut and deer. It is also rife with brown bears which outnumber the native population 3 to 1.

The song and dance show told of the Tlingit and their history. For centuries, the way Tlingit history was passed was by stories, song, dance and totem poles. The show also explained how the Tlingit were organized starting with 2 basic clans and further subdividing into various houses. During the show, the performers show the back of the cloaks which have an animal symbol on them that identifies their clan. They also stated their Tlingit names which tell their ancestry and where they came from. I found the show very interesting.

My final excursion was a tour of Hoonah. The majority of the 1,000 Tlingit living on Chichagof Island live in Hoonah (population:697 as of 2009 per www.city-data.com). The town has one commercial chain store (an Ace Hardware) with 1 gas pump which they use to fuel their various vehicles. Also, they have a small post office, marina and airfield. There are 2 ways the Tlingit use to travel to the mainland - ferry to Juneau which costs $33 each way and airplane which costs $80 each way. The Tlingit have 1 school which teaches grades kindergarten to 12th grade. According to my tour guide, the last graduating class had 4 students. The school teaches the Tlingit language as well as English. This is critical in helping preserve the Tlingit culture. Incredibly, Tlingit didn't have a written form until the 1970's. Before then, all knowledge was passed down orally. According to my guide who's name I sadly can't remember, there are just 10,000 Tlingit in the entire world. This seemed a small number to me.

Overall, I found my visit to Hoonah and the island really interesting. It was something to learn of the Tlingit culture and way of life. For the overwhelming majority of travellers, the primary way to visit Hoonah is via cruise ship. I visited via the Radiance of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean Cruises cruise ship. Royal Caribbean, Princess, Holland America, Seven Seas, Oceania and Celebrity ships all stop in Icy Strait Point/Hoonah. If you're interested in learning about the Tlingit or want to see some pristine Alaskan wilderness, a port call to Icy Strait Point/Hoonah may be for you. Cheers all!

My 2011 Visit to Vancover, Canada

I made it to Vancouver, Canada. It was a long day getting here. I managed to get just 4 hours sleep after driving back from Michigan. The Big Blue Van airport shuttle folks picked me up at 3:15 in the morning and got me to Reagan National Airport in good time. From there, I had a nearly 3 hour flight to Houston, a 1 hour layover and a 5 hour flight to Vancouver. My travel agent arranged for a driver to pick me up at the airport and, he was waiting once I finished customs and immigration. The drive into Vancouver was just 30 minutes.

The Listel Hotel has lived up to its reputation for being artsy. It is filled with art. The hotel staff are nice and helpful. The location ISN'T the best if you're going to do a cruise out of Vancouver. My friend Harvey and I walked to to the cruise ship terminal and, we realized real quick we weren't going to do that lugging our suitcases. The taxi fare supposedly won't be more than $15 Canadian. We'll find out for sure when we take the taxi this morning.

The Vancouver cruise ship terminal is impressive. It can reportedly handle 4 cruise ships at 1 time. I think the most I've seen here was 3. I spoke with a person named Brett who told Harvey and I what we had to do upon arrival at the terminal. I'll post that procedure after I've gone through it myself so other travellers will know what to do and what to expect.

Yesterday, I used the Big Bus Hop On Hop Off service to sightsee Vancouver. It worked out well. I rode the bus through its entire route so I could hear all the narrative then, I decided what particular sights I wanted to see. I decided on Stanley Park and the Sun Yat Sen Chinese gardens. Stanley Park was really neat. It has a collection of 7 totem poles representing the various Indian nations. It also has dense forest and stunning trees. Lastly, it gives some great views of the Vancouver skyline at certain points. I was really glad I checked out this park. The Chinese garden was a nice quiet oasis in the city. There are 2 Chinese gardens you can visit. The larger classical garden has an admission charge but includes a guided tour of the garden while the smaller garden is free.

During my stay in Vancouver, I've eaten at 3 places - The Irish Heather, The Top of Vancouver and O'Doul's. The Irish Heather is a fantastic Irish pub with an astounding choice of single malt whiskies (over 100 I believe). I particularly enjoyed the steak and Guinness pot pie I had there. The Top of Vancouver restaurant is located at the top of a tower that rotates and looks over Vancouver. It offers great views of the city. The restaurant rotates completely around once every 60 minutes. Service was outstanding at this restaurant. The restaurant isn't cheap but, the food is very good. I had some excellent calimari and escargot for starters. My seafood melody main entree was very good. I was very pleased to dine at this restaurant as it made a nice finish to my day of sightseeing in Vancouver. O'Doul's is the restaurant attached to the Listel Hotel. This makes it very easy to get to for those staying there. I had breakfast at this restaurant as well as a couple nightcaps. The breakfast was very good though pricey. Service was excellent. The bartender at the bar where I had my nightcaps was really nice. They do have some affordable brews. Surprisingly, they don't offer Molson Canadian lager on draft there. Molson has a large brewery in the city which I passed by during my tour of the city.

Overall, I've enjoyed my stay at Vancouver though it isn't a place I would've visited for just itself. It isn't that interesting to me. If you are going to do an Alaskan cruise out of here, it is worth spending an extra day checking the place out. The city has a number of the big cruise lines stop here including Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Princess Lines and Silversea (I saw their Silver Shadow ship at the cruise ship terminal yesterday). A tour guide on the hop on hop off bus I rode told me the city receives over 1 million visitors a year during the cruise season. I can understand why. The cruise ship terminal itself is located in the center of the city making it an ideal base to see the city from and, it looks like it's easy to board the ships there (I'll know for certain on that later today).

That's all for this installment. Stay tuned for blogs on the renovated Radiance of the Seas and how my Alaska cruise goes. Happy travels all.

Greenfield Village

The Henry Ford is a number of different attractions. It includes the museum, Greenfield Village, and IMAX theater and a tour of one of Ford's auto plants. This Monday, I decided to drive to Dearborn, Michigan so I could see Greenfield Village for the first time. The village is an outdoor museum of sorts. It contains historic buildings from the 1700's, 1800's and early 1900's. The buildings include Thomas Alva Edison's laboratory complex from Menlo Park, New Jersey, the Wright Brothers home and bicycle shop and the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law. The inside of the buildings look just as they would've when their occupants lived in them. In the Wright Brothers bicycle shop, you see bicycles and accessories for sale in the front of the shop. Further back, you bicycle parts and tool or machines for making those parts. In the farthest back shop, you see an airplane wing being built presumably for a glider or one of their airplanes. A guide in the shop explains how things were in the shop and answers any questions.

The village also offers different rides though not of the kind we normally associate with tourist attraction rides. How many tourist attractions do you know that give you the chance to ride in a vintage Model T car or in a horse pulled Omnibus? There is also a steam locomotive with cars to ride in that goes around the perimeter of the village and supposedly a vintage bus that runs through the village. I didn't see or ride on the bus. The last ride is a vintage carousel with painted animals including a giant frog and giant rooster. Personally, I enjoyed all the rides. I thought it was something to get to ride in a Model T car for the first time. The one I rode in was built in 1925. A village guide told me they use one that was built in 1913, just 6 years after Henry Ford came out with the car.

Lastly, the village has craft shops covering glass blowing, printing, pottery making, weaving and milling. The glass blowing shop was particularly interesting as you got to see the master glass blower got through all the stages of making an item while a narrator explains the various steps. Later, at the gift shop, you can buy items that actually made in the various craft shops. The glass blowers at the village make some very beautiful glass ware but, I will warn would be shoppers that the items aren't cheap. A very nice light blue glass pitcher sold for $56. Do keep in mind these items are hand made by master craftsmen.

Price wise for Greenfield Village was $22 for an adult and $21 for a Senior. I don't remember what the admission price for a child was. On the rides, you can buy individual tickets for the rides (average cost $4) or you can buy an unlimited ride pass for $10. If you want to ride either the open or inclosed horse drawn omnibuses, you must buy an unlimited ride pass. They don't sell tickets for those rides as the carriage drivers can't check or collect tickets. They do sell multi-attraction tickets example buying a ticket for the village and the museum. You will save money buying these but, I don't believe you can do justice to either attraction if you don't spend less than a day seeing each. From date of purchase, your ticket is good for 1 year though it can only be used 1 time. There are memberships you can buy starting at $54 a year that will allow free multiple visits throughout the year to the museum and village. Active duty military members may visit the museum and village for free any time. There is a $5 charge for parking which is automatically included in your ticket purchase. You don't have to put anything in your vehicle to show you've paid the parking fee. The complex website http://www.thehenryford.org/index.aspx offers directions to the complex.

Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to the village. It was neat to ride a 1925 Model T and the train. The people who work at the village were very knowledgeable and helpful. The village was very clean and safe. I was at the village for over 5 hours and, I could've easily spent more time there. There is LOTS to see and do there. If you are in the Dearborn area, this is one attraction worth seeing. Good travels all.

Son of Neptune

Rick Riordan released some more information on his upcoming Son of Neptune novel. On May 15, 2011 Riordan tweeted on Twitter that the novel was finished and all that remain was publishing and formatting. http://twitter.com/#!/camphalfblood On May 26, 2011, Riordan revealed the Heroes of Olympus webpage http://disney.go.com/disneybooks/heroes-of-olympus/ the cover for the book as well as a link where readers can read the 1st chapter of the book. The book's release date is still set for October 4 according to Riordan's website http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx.

The 1st chapter was good and, I can't wait to read the book. I am curious as to what happened to Percy. Also, it'll be interesting to learn about Roman demigod camp. I'll post anymore information if I find out anymore. Cheers all!

Michigan

My various travels began Friday. I packed a small bag and loaded up my laptop backpack. At 5 a.m., I hit the road. It ended taking me over 9 hours to get to Michigan. I was surprised all the road work that was going on. At times, it brought traffic to a standstill. I wasn't thrilled with the tolls on the Pennsylvania and Ohio Turnpikes. Pennsylvania hit me for $11.35 and Ohio hit me for $10.50. Michigan caught me by surprise with its summer fuel mix. That mix caused fuel prices to jump. By the time I nearly reached my destination, I was nearly out of gas. I looked desperately for a gas station but about gagged when I saw they wanted $4.23 a gallon for regular. I bit my lip and paid it.

It was something to see the state again. I recognized some of the town and city names. I don't see a lot of the state because of my other travels. I was determined to make it to Michigan this time to see my Dad. It was really nice to get to see him again. Yesterday, my favorite Aunt Aunt Marge came up from Indiana. She is such a super nice woman and, she has been through so much. We caught up on news and talked about travels and motorbikes. Her husband Dave and her have done a lot of travelling through the Western United States on a touring Yamaha motorcycle they own. It was neat to hear of their travels.

Lastly, I got to enjoy some White Castle hamburgers. To my annoyance, they're not any White Castle restaurants in Maryland. I've enjoyed their hamburgers since I was a kid. They may not be the tastiest hamburgers but, they're neat with their small size and, you can buy a case of the things. Also, they bring back memories of when my parents would load up the family car and, we'd drive to Indiana to see my Grandparents. To keep my sister and I under control, my folks would promise to stop at the Cleveland White Castles for some of their hamburgers if we were good. That usually worked and, we always looked forward to enjoying some of their hamburgers.

That's it for this travel installment. Stay tuned. More travels are coming. Tomorrow, I'll visit Greenfield Village for the first time. Cheers all!

Serenade of the Seas

In November, I'll get to sail on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas for the first time. The cruise will visit 4 islands I've never been to - Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Croix. The cruise will also stop at Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Philipsburg is where I went on my notorious deep sea fishing trip during my first cruise. The fishing trip was a fiasco as between the 6 of us on the boat, we caught just 1 fish and, the captain of the boat left us stranded at the pier. We had to make our own way back to our ship the Adventure of the Seas. I told my travel friend Harvey we won't try that again when we make port in Philipsburg though I would like to go deep sea fishing again on the cruise. We'll see what the other ports offer in that way.

Internet wise, I found out from surfing the web that the Serenade offers the same kind of WiFi that Navigator of the Seas offered i.e. various hotspots throughout the ship as pay as you go or pre-pay. Depending on much you think you'll use the Internet, the pre-pay plans could save you some money. I know I'll use it a lot so I'll be buying their maximum plan which is 500 minutes for $150. Hopefully, my Crown and Anchor coupon booklet will have a discount coupon for the Internet so I'll be able to save some money like I did on the Navigator of the Seas.

The Serenade of the Seas is a Radiance class ship. I'll get to find out what those are like in less than 2 weeks when I do my previously mentioned Alaska cruise on the Radiance of the Seas. The class is smaller than the Voyager class that I've cruised on before. I'm curious to see what their like. The cruise on the Radiance will give me an idea of what it'll be like on the Serenade. One unique item the Radiance class has that no other ship has is automatically self leveling pool tables! They must have built in gyroscopes which is kind of wild for a pool table to have. I can't wait to try them out and see how well they work.

That's all for this post. Stay tuned for upcoming travel posts. The time is almost here where I'll get to play the world traveller again. I can't wait. It seems like ages since I took Globus's Legacy of the Incas tour. Cheers all!

Cruise Ship Article

Recently, I bought the 15th Anniversary issue of Porthole, a magazine the covers cruising. The magazine has an interesting article on why cruise ships are getting so big. The article is written by Robert McGarvey. It makes some valid points like one reason being "economy of scale." The more passengers you have, the cheaper it is per passenger for docking fees and for staff on board the ship. Another valid reason they give is that passengers are wanting more features on the ships. They want there to be more to do on the ship vice just eating, seeing a show and exercising. Lastly, Jenny Reed, a cruise specialist mentions in the article that the ship is itself becoming the main draw and not the ports.

This is where I differ with the article. While I suspect Miss Reed is right on some cruises, on a number of others, I think the ports very much matter. For example, I don't believe anyone is going on an Alaska cruise to spend time on the cruise ship. People go on the Alaska cruise to see the stunning scenery and visit some of the ports in Alaska where they can experience some of the things that are unique to that state. For example, seeing a logging show where you see lumberjacks practice skills they use in their trade. Another example would be attending a native dance performance where you can learn about some of the indian groups in the area. Lastly, you can learn and even try your luck at finding gold in the areas where it was found in Alaska at one time.

Another item the article doesn't mention but which I think influences the size of the ships is increased profit potential. A bigger ship can hold more shops and restaurants where people on the cruise can spend their money. An example would be the refit that is being done right now on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas. When the refit is done, the ship will have a new Brazilian steakhouse, a Mexican restaurant and a new Italian restaurant. All these restaurants should increase the ship's profit from its cruises. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines are allegedly the most profitable and, I suspect part of the reason is because they have such large ships and thereby, their ships have greater profit potential as they can offer more shops, restaurants and other services such as massages and body wraps.

For me personally, the ports will be the deciding factor on what cruise I do. I want the ship to be clean, modern and comfortable but, I don't go on a cruise to spend time on the boat. I go on a cruise because it is the best way to see certain areas like the Caribbean islands or the Greek islands. It would be a major hassle to island hop between those islands using ferries or airplanes. A cruise makes it considerably easier to visit those islands. You only have to unpack once and, your food, lodging and transportation are pretty much taken care of. Stay tuned for future posts on my upcoming Alaska cruise. Good travels to you all.

Royal Caribbean Alaska Cruise

As any readers I have can see, I'm playing catch up on my blogging today. I've been meaning to post some stuff but, I just didn't give off my procrastinating butt and post. This post concerns my upcoming 7 day Alaska cruise with Royal Caribbean.

I think it was last winter that I started trying to figure out what I wanted to do travel wise for this summer. I wanted to return to Iceland and finish all the sightseeing I'd like to do there but, it turned out I didn't see any reasonably affordable package deals I liked. My friend Harvey was interested in doing an Alaska cruise. My travel agent Joel raved about it saying the sights were stunning. I decided to look into it and to my surprise, I found a nice deal with Royal Caribbean for a cruise in late May. I subsequently booked it then, Royal Caribbean decided to put the ship in dry dock for some renovations during the month of May. They offered me a deal where they would give me a $400 ship board credit, a more expensive date in June 2011 and pay the fee to change my airplane tickets. I readily agreed to the offer. So, next month, I'll fly out to Vancouver, Canada and board the Radiance of the Seas for a 7 day Alaska cruise.

The cruise will stop in Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau and Skagway. I should get to do a number of Alaska type things like salmon fishing, see a glacier and hopefully see some whales. The ship itself will be a new one to me as I've never cruised on a Radiance class ship before. The ship is smaller than the Adventure or Navigator of the Seas. It holds a max of 2,500 passengers. Still, it should be a nice ship and, I look forward to exploring it when I board for my cruise. This will be my third cruise with Royal Caribbean. This time, I should definitely know all the ropes with them. I've already got my boarding paperwork done and my cruise luggage tags are en-route to my home. They should arrive in plenty of time so I'll be able to attach them to my 1 bag. Also, I've booked in advance all my shore excursions and prepaid for their unlimited soda refills. I know I have to drink a lot of soda to make that worth-whiled but, I prefer that to Royal Caribbean charging $2 to my ship account for every soda I drink. Another nice thing about prepaying on the sodas is that the icon they put on your ship pass is made into the pass vice them attaching a sticker to it. Stickers can come off and, I prefer the icon being part of my ship pass.

I plan to use Royal Caribbean's WiFi again. I was impressed with it last time. One nice difference Internet wise on this cruise is I should be able to post stuff while at the various ports in Alaska. My Sprint USB modem should work in those towns. We'll see on that.

That's all for now. Stay tune for some interesting travel posts coming in the future. Soon, I'll get to play the world traveler again. I can't wait. It seems like ages since I traveled to Peru. Good travels to you all.

Coke Rewards

In my opinion, one of the smartest promotions Coca Cola has come out with is Coke rewards. The promotion rewards people who drink the various Coca Cola products such as Coke, Sprite, Fanta and Barq's root beer. The rewards range from impressive drawings such as a trip to Hawaii to t-shirts, gift cards and small appliances. The reward points you get depends on what package of the sodas you buy. For example, you get more points if you buy a 12 pack vice buying a 10 ounce bottle of their soda. One thing that is strange is that you get the same amount of points for buying a 12 ounce bottle of their soda as you do for buying a 2 LITER bottle. Figure that one out. Overall, it's a pretty smart program and, Coke makes it very easy to participate in the promotion. I think it definitely succeeds in encouraging people to drink their products. I know it's had that effect with me. I specifically look for their products at the store whereas before, I looked for whatever was cheapest. If you drink Coke products, you should check out their MyCoke rewards website at http://www.mycokerewards.com/home.do. Cheers all!

Latest Riordan Book Out

Rick Riordan's latest book came out May 3rd in hardbound. It's the second book in the Kane Chronicles. It's called Throne of Fire and tells of the adventures of the Kane kids as they try to find the Egyptian sun god Ra. I haven't read the book yet so I can't tell if you if I think it's any good. Still, I can't imagine it being a poor read. I confess that the book is more a tide me over till Son of Neptune comes out in October. That's the one I'm really interested in. I'm very curious to find out what has happened to Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. I'll post another entry on what I think of the latest Kane book once I've read it. Good reading all.

New Riordan Book

To get some bonus MyPoints, I had to do 104 searches before the end of the month. One of the things I thought to search for was the Son of Neptune book by Rick Riordan. As I previously blogged about, the book is the second in the Heroes of Olympus series. The Heroes of Olympus series incorporates characters from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians 5 book series while introducing new Roman demigods who are the children of the Greek gods except in their Roman persona. The first book in the series "The Lost Hero" was very good. My only complaint would be it leaves you hungering for the 2nd book "The Son of Neptune." Sadly, that book isn't due out till October of this year. Thanks to the search I did, I found out Riordan has a website called The On-line World of Rick Riordan. The website has lots of information on the various books Riordan has written such as the Percy Jackson series as well as news of books he will be writing.

It was through this site that I found out that Riordan will be coming out in May 2011 with a second book in the Kane Chronicles. The book is called "The Throne of Fire." It continues in the 2 person narrative and tells of the further adventures of Carter and Sadie Kane, the brother and sister magicians who must work together to defeat the chaos serpent Apophos. The book should be another good read. Plus, it'll tide over those of us who are waiting for the 2nd book of the Heroes of Olympus series.

Another nice feature of the website is it has a link to Riordan's blog where he posts various comments and observations. Also, he gives updates on various books such as his March 12th entry where he reveals that revisions for the Son of Neptune book (he had a complete manuscript according to his February 13th entry) are coming along and, he should make the October release date.

Riordan is going to be a very BUSY writer as he'll be putting out 2 books next year. The 2 books will be a 3rd book in The Kane Chronicles and the 3rd in the Heroes of Olympus series. Riordan's website hasn't revealed yet if the Kane Chronicles will go to 5 books like his Percy series did and his Heroes of Olympus will. However, I suspect it's likely. That should please his readers as Riordan does produce consistently good stories. His books have won him a number of awards and made him a best selling author on the New York Times booklist. Cheers all!

Five Winners

As I reported in my last blog entry, I was keeping my fingers crossed for the super jackpot in the MegaMillions game. I knew the odds were extremely long but, I was having some luck with it. My luck was better than the odds. I ended up with five winners. I had 4 $2 winners and 1 $3 winner which breaks out to 1 in 20 winners. Your chances of winning something in the game are 1 in 40 according to the Megamillions website. Plus, $11 is better than nothing. I'm sure there are plenty who won zilch. Now, the jackpot goes back to $12 million which still isn't that bad. That would break out to just under half a million bucks per year. I could live on that. So, I'm going to be a schmuck and keep on trying. If nothing else, it allows me to dream. Also, you can't win if you don't play. Good luck to the other players out there. Cheers all!

Mega-Millions Game

I'm not much of a gambler. I don't have the nerves for it or a poker face as they call it. I remember watching as a kid the adults play cards when my family clan would gather at my Grandma Wilkes's home. It looked pretty fascinating watching but, I wasn't allowed to play as I wasn't old enough. When I finally turned 18 years old, Grandma Wilkes gave me a $10 roll of quarters for a present. She won that back and $10 more before she left. It did wonders for curing me of any desire to gamble.

On occasion, I would play the state's lottery. I think my biggest win was $120 which didn't come close to what I've spent on lottery tickets. Big jackpots can tempt me to play and the last 2 jackpots in the MegaMillions game have been up there. Last Friday's jackpot was $204 million, this past Tuesday it was $244 million and today's jackpot will hit $312 million. The thought of winning that much money and what it would mean (Johnny Paycheck's famous song comes to mind) has caused me to play. So far, I've had 3 winners last Friday for a total of $13 in winnings and 1 Tuesday for $3.

I know the odds of winning in MegaMillions are very remote to say the least. According to their website (http://www.megamillions.com/), the odds of winning are 1 in 175,711,536. Also, incredibly, you are playing against other lottery players in 41 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands (source: MegaMillions game website). I had no idea the game was THAT big. The game is renowned for colossal jackpots. According to the MegaMillions trivia on the website, they've had 5 that went over $300 million including the largest jackpot ever offered in North America. In March 2007, the jackpot hit a mindboggling $390 million. I think I remember that one. I don't remember if I played or not though I probably did. The temptation would've been too great not to play.

So, we'll see if I become terribly rich tonight or joins millions of Americans who will throw their losing tickets away and continue to dream of hitting it rich some day. Odds are I'll be among those Americans though it has been nice dreaming of what I could do if lady luck royally favored me. Cheers all!

Haircut

I needed to get a haircut before an important meeting next week. As I had a short day at work today, I decided to go to the 198 Barbershop on MD-198 and get myself all neat and trim again. I'd let my hair grow long and, I looked like a hippie. I thought that was kind of fun but, that look doesn't make the best impression and, I'll need to make a good impression next week.

The 198 Barbershop is a nice place. The barbers are friendly, competitively priced and do a good job. The shop has adequate parking and is very close to the MD-295 exit making it easy to get to. As an extra treat, they have a popcorn popping machine where you can get yourself a free bag of popcorn while you wait to get your hair cut. As far as waits go, I've never had to wait that long there. They usually have 3 barbers there and, they don't lollygag. I don't know if you can make appointments with them. You can find more information about the shop at http://www.198barbershop.com. I would definitely recommend them. Cheers all!

Update February 27, 2018: I just wanted to mention that this barbershop has gone out of business. The owner as I understand it wanted to cut back on her responsibilities and tried to sell the business. As far as I can tell, there haven't been any takers so far.

Oasis Class Ships

Royal Caribbean International seems to repeatedly outdo its competition when it comes to cruise ships. How many ships do you know where you can go ice skating, rock climbing, roller blading, miniature golfing and play basketball (all the ships I know of have a full length court)? The latest and greatest by Royal Caribbean is the Oasis class ships. They are the largest cruise ships in the world coming in at over 220,000 tons. They have 18 decks and incredibly draw only 30 feet of water. The 30 feet thing boggles when you see how much ship is above water. As I mentioned previously on this blog, I got to see the Oasis from a distance and, I was in Ft. Lauderdale when the Allure (the second of this class) arrived from its maiden voyage from Finland. Reviews of the 2 ships have been unanimously positive. Because of that, you would think I'd really like to cruise on one of these marvels but, I confess I don't care to right now. My only complaint with the class is their itineraries. I don't go cruising to spend time on the boat. I go cruising because it is the most convenient way to see the particular destinations I'm visiting i.e. the Caribbean islands or in June - Alaska. Looking at the itineraries of the Oasis class, I see you spend half your time at sea. I don't care for that at all. I've heard the reason for that is because a number of the ports can't handle the massive ships. Royal Caribbean according to cruisecritic.com (I couldn't find the article I saw on this) is working on that. When Royal Caribbean improves the class's itineraries, I'll be lining up to go cruising on one of these extraordinary ships.