Baltimore Cruise Ship Terminal

Today, I made it to the Baltimore Cruise Ship Terminal finally to take some pictures. It was something to be able to drive to a cruise ship terminal vice having to go through all the hassle of flying and then catching a shuttle to the terminal. Key roads leading to Baltimore and the terminal had signs reminded folks of the exit 55 (last exit before you go through the Harbor Tunnel on your way to New York). Things were busy at the terminal as Carnival's Pride ship was departing for a 7 night cruise to the Bahamas. The Pride is approximately 57 feet longer than Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas which will start sailing out of Baltimore on May 3rd. Also, it carries slightly more passengers - 175 more. For those who like Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas, this coming Saturday will be its last time to depart from Baltimore as it sets off on a 12 night cruise finishing in Port Canaveral, Florida.

The cruise ship terminal was supposedly a converted warehouse. Also, I suspect they had to install a boarding ramp as pictured below.

The terminal does have parking for those who want to drive to the terminal and leave their car during the cruise. According to the terminal website: http://www.cruise.maryland.gov/content/parking-rates, parking is $15 a day payable upon arrival by cash, credit card or traveler's check. Here's a picture of the parking:

The terminal can get busy on the day a ship is sailing as shown in this picture of cars lined up to get in.

Three cruise lines currently sail out of the Baltimore Cruise Ship Terminal - American Cruise Line (smallest of the 3 lines, carries no more than 100 passengers) which sails up and down the East Coast, Carnival which sails to the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean and Royal Caribbean which sails to Canada, the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Caribbean. For more information on the terminal please check out the terminal webpage at: http://www.baltimorecruiseguide.com/cruise-terminal.html.

Update posted on 8/5/13. Carnival announced on June 27, 2013 that the Carnival Pride will redeploy to Tampa, Florida December 2014. They haven't said anything about a ship replacing the Pride. Royal Caribbean stated on July 17, 2013 that it would continue to run cruises out of Baltimore on it's Grandeur of the Seas.

Update posted on 7/27/2014: In a press release from the Maryland Governor's office dated January 20, 2014 which you can find on www.cruise.maryland.gov, Governor O'Malley announced that Carnival would continue to offer cruises out of Baltimore. The plan according to the press release is for the Carnival Pride to redeploy to Tampa, Florida in October 2014 at which time it'll receive upgrades including scrubbers to reduce emissions. The ship will return to Baltimore on March 29, 2015 and resume cruises out of Baltimore.

Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas did begin offering cruises out of Baltimore on May 3, 2013 and continues to offer them at the time of this post. I did the May 3rd cruise on Grandeur and had a great time. I hope to sail on the Grandeur again in 2016.

Rick Riordan Book Release Dates

As I haven't made it down to the Baltimore Cruise Ship Terminal to take some pictures of it to post on my blog, I decided to forward on to my readers book release dates that Rick Riordan posted on his blog Myth & Mystery (http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/) on March 25th, 2013 along with various comments by myself.

The Serpent's Shadow

Riordan states that the paperback version will be released in the United States on May 7th with one special feature. The book will contain the first ever Percy Jackson/Carter Kane story called The Son of Sobek. This would be a very tempting offer BUT, I already have the hardbound edition. :-( For those who don't want to have to buy a 2nd copy of the book, on June 18th, 2013, Disney-Hyperion will release an electronic e-single version of the story with a special plus. The e-single will include an audio version where Riordan himself reads the story. Interesting! Riordan states the e-single version will be cheaper than the paperbook (you would think so) though I'd have to buy a Kindle thingy to use the e-single thing with. I've been thinking about buying one of those any way and, this does give me more of an incentive to get one. It would be very cool to hear Riordan read one of his stories. We'll see on this.

The House of Hades

Fans of the Heroes of Olympus series will be more titillated on May 31st, 2013 when Disney-Hyperion releases the cover for The House of Hades book. Then, according to Riordan, they'll release more sneak peaks during the summer (like we really need those or do they like torturing us while we impatiently wait for the dang book). Finally, on October 8th, 2013, they'll release the hard cover edition which I'll be pre-ordering so (when we can do that), I can get mine ASAP and finally find out what happens to Percy and Annabeth after they fall into Tartarus and how the other demigods - Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Leo get them out of there.

That's all the news I thought worth forwarding on about Riordan's books. Like many other of his fans, I'm waiting very impatiently for The House of Hades book. Riordan did far too good a job of writing a cliffhanger at the end of Mark of Athena. Plus, I'm curious to see how the prophecy of the seven plays out though I don't think we'll find that out till the last un-named fifth book comes out presumably in October 2014. Happy reading all!

29 Days Till I Cruise on Grandeur of the Seas

As you can tell, I'm counting the days till I fly down to San Juan, Puerto Rico and board Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas for her re-positioning cruise which finishes in Baltimore, Maryland. Once there, she'll take the place of Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas which is re-positioning to possibly Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The cruise should be particularly good. One down side to cruising out of Baltimore, Maryland is you spend a lot of time at sea getting to and from places. The Baltimore cruise to the Bahamas takes 2 days at sea each way. With the re-positioning cruise, you'll only spend 2 days at sea en-route to Baltimore. Also, the cruise pulls into 6 ports: St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Kitts, British Virgin Island, Dominican Republic and Haiti (Royal Caribbean's resort at Labadee) (this may not be the correct order though these are all the port calls it'll make).

Others apparently think the cruise should be a good one as the last time I checked, the only cabins that were left were suites on the cruise which were going for over $2,400 per person! I managed to get a pretty good deal on an inner cabin. It'll be my first time in one of those cabins (I normally do balcony cabins) and, I'm curious to see what they're like. Also, it'll be my first time on Grandeur of the Seas though I did get to sail on her sister ship Splendour of the Seas last November on 2 great cruises to the Greek Islands.

After the re-positioning cruise, I'll be doing a follow on cruise on Grandeur of the Seas to Bermuda. That cruise will be interesting as that'll be the first cruise I'll ever done where the ship overnights at a port. Also, it'll be my first visit to Bermuda.

Both cruises should be a lot of fun plus, it'll be very convenient finishing in Baltimore. I won't have to worry about the weight of my suit case and, I'll only have to pay $35 for a shuttle to take me to the Extended Stay Hotel in Jessup, Maryland where I'll be staying again for at least another 2 months. So far, I've been very pleased with the Extended Stay Hotel. I plan to write on a review on it later on Tripadvisor.com. Stay tuned for my cruise updates. Happy travels all!

Wegmans Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

While visiting the Columbia, Maryland Wegmans supermarket this past Friday, I decided to buy some of their Jelly Belly jelly beans. Wegmans offers a very good price on them - $7 a pound. This is $2 a pound cheaper than the Sweets From Heaven shop I reviewed in December 2012. Wegmans doesn't offer the extensive selection of loose candy Sweets From Heaven offers though it does offer some loose candy as well as various nuts such as sunflower seeds and cashews as well as trail mix. Their honey roasted sunflower kernels are pretty good and reasonably priced at $2.69 a pound (price valid on February 27th 2013). The price Wegmans offers on Jelly Belly jelly beans also beats the price you'll find on the official Jelly Belly website where it would cost you between $8.59 a pound (providing you bought a 10 pound bulk package) to $10 a pound (for a 2 pound package). If you like Jelly Belly jelly beans, you're local Wegmans might be the best place to buy them. Happy jelly bean munching all!

McDonald's Fish McBites Review

In the McDonald's coupon booklet I received in the mail, they mentioned their new food item Fish McBites. Fish McBites are small breaded square pieces of Alaskan pollock that McDonald's offers in 3 different size orders - snack (3.4 ounces), regular (5.2 ounces) and shareable (10.3 ounces). I tried the shareable size. I bought my McBite order at the 8700 Washington Boulevard, Jessup, Maryland McDonalds. It cost me $5.59 not including tax and came with 2 small things of tartar sauce which you can dip the McBites in. According to nutrition information McDonald's posts on its website http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/product_nutrition.chicken.1043.Fish-McBites-Regular-Size.html, the shareable size Fish McBites has 730 calories, 33 grams of protein, 39 grams of fat, 63 grams of carbohydrates, 1,260 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of saturated fat, zero trans fat and 70 milligrams of cholesterol.

Overall, I thought McDonald's Fish McBites were pretty good. They are a novel way to enjoy fish as well as a very easy way to eat fish. Due to their small size, I would think there is very little risk of finding a fish bone, something you have to watch out for in larger fish portions. Time wise, there would be a minimal wait to get your order unless it's a particularly busy time at your local McDonald's. McBites might be a good way to get kids to try fish. I would think young kids would particularly like the small bite size piece like they like Chicken McNuggets. Bon Appetit!

Godiva Biscuits

While visiting my nearby base exchange to get some Godiva chocolates as a gift for the 2 very sweet lady managers at EZ Storage on 8401 Contee Road in Laurel, Maryland, I decided to treat myself to a reward for finishing my move out of my apartment. Godiva is renowned for making high quality products and, I decided to try their biscuits (cookies to those of us in the United States). The 50 biscuit gift set was encased in a very nice orange tin with the Godiva trademark in the center of it. The tin held the following assortment of biscuits:

Godiva Signature - a traditional European biscuits with a square of Godiva chocolate on top with Lady Godiva riding her horse in the center of the chocolate square

Dark Truffle Heart - a heart shaped biscuit with chocolate on top filled with chocolate truffle cream

Hazelnut Praline - chocolate hazelnut creme set between 2 crunchy biscuits with milk chocolate on the bottom

Raspberry Premier - a thin chocolate biscuit topped with a layer of chocolate raspberry creme with a square of dark chocolate on top of that

Petit Mousse - a light biscuit filled with chocolate mousse dipped in dark chocolate

Chocolate Lune - 2 thin hazelnut wafers filled with chocolate creme half dipped in dark chocolate

Hazelnut Belgique - a meringue biscuit topped with hazelnut pieces encased in dark chocolate and drizzled with milk chocolate

All of the biscuits were beautifully made and stacked in the stylish tin. I tried each of the biscuits and found every 1 of them a delicious chocolate delight. Price wise, the tin lists for $40 on the Godiva website but, for military folks, you can buy the tin for $32 at your base/post exchange. For those who care about calories, each biscuit/cookie contains approximately 40 calories with 0 cholesterol and 0 trans fats.

Overall, the biscuits lived up to the Godiva brand. They're very good and should delight any chocoholic as well as making a very nice gift to anyone. I would heartily recommend this wonderful product. Bon Appetit!

New 1 mg Generic Propecia Available in the U.S.

Yesterday, I drove to the Arundel Mills Costco Warehouse to pick up my latest 90 day prescription refill of Propecia. The pharmacist at the counter informed me they'd given me a new generic propecia. The only generic I knew of was Proscar which is Finasteride in 5mg tablets. I never used Proscar because, I didn't want to mess with splitting the tablets into 4 pieces with a pill splitter. Supposedly Proscar was cheaper but, it wasn't worth the hassle to me.

The new generic made my Dr. Reddy's Laboratories in possibly India comes in 1mg doses like Propecia though the pills are a different color and smaller. Price wise, the generic has considerable savings. My refill cost $150.74 saving me over $57 for a 90 day supply. That amounts to over $228 a year! I was delighted with the savings.

Later, I found an article dated 3 January 2013 announcing beginning of sales of the product (http://www.fool.com/investing/businesswire/2013/01/03/dr-reddys-announces-the-launch-of-finasteride-tabl.aspx) in the U.S. on 2 January 2013. The article gives a few particulars like the size of the Propecia market in the U.S. though I don't know if they took into account those who were taking Proscar for hair loss prevention.

The big issue is the savings for Propecia users and, the knowledge they will be able to get a product that is unquestionably is what it says it is. If you bought a generic Propecia from a foreign pharmaceutical concern like I did 1 time, you couldn't be sure you were actually getting the genuine product. Presumably, with the generic Propecia made by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Propecia users can rest assured they're getting genuine Finasteride in the prescribed dose. NOTE: Propecia users must still have a doctors prescription to get the generic Propecia. Also, pregnant women should avoid any contact with the generic Propecia just like the regular Propecia.

Update December 7, 2013: Today, I posted a new article about a 2nd generic Propecia entering the U.S. market. It's made by Camber Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and is apparently cheaper than the generic put out by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited. See my article for further information.

Columbia Wegmans Coke Freestyle Machines

I first heard about Coca Cola's (Coke) freestyle soda machines via Royal Caribbean. The Royal Caribbean cruise line is slowly deploying the machines on their cruise ships. Sadly, I haven't been on 1 of the ships that have the machines. I remembered that the Columbia, Maryland Wegmans grocery store has 1 of the machines (they actually have 3 as I found out later), I decided to go there and try their machine out.

I found the machine very simple to use. You put your glass in the machine. You touch the screen. You press for ice in your glass then choose what soda you want. The machines offer an astounding 125 different Coke products, some of which you won't find on your supermarket shelves. For example, I decided to try Vanilla Barq's Root Beer to see what it's like. The machines I suspect are a huge plus for places that carry them as they cut down on the amount of inventory the store or in Royal Caribbean's case ships have to carry. Also, since they're very simple to use, customers can use them themselves freeing up staff to do other tasks. At Wegmans, all they had to do was collect my $1.69 plus tax and give me a glass to put my soda in.

I really liked the Coke freestyle machines and, I look forward to using them again at Wegmans. I can't wait to get to use them on Royal Caribbean's ships. The machines will offer cruisers a greater choice of sodas and more convenience. Happy Drinking All!

Rita's York Peppermint Milk Shake

Yesterday, I visited the Laurel, Maryland Rita's Italian Ice for a Root Beer Misto Shake. They didn't have Root Beer ice yesterday but, I was able to get the equivalent of a Creamsicle Misto Shake which was just as good. While enjoying my shake, I noticed they had advertisements in their shop for a York (think peppermint pattie) Peppermint Milk Shake. I really like peppermint so, I inquired about the item. I found out, it isn't listed on the boards listing what custards and ices they have. It's something of a special product you have to know about to get. I decided to put that on my list to try.

Today was the day I got to try their York Peppermint Milk Shake. It was a reward to myself for moving 2 loads of my stuff to EZ Storage. My move is slowly coming along and, I should be out of my current apartment by the time my lease comes to a final end.

I found the shake had a very considerable chocolate flavor to it. Chocolate lovers should like it in that way. However, I found the peppermint flavor to be rather weak. I mentioned this to the lady running the Laurel shop and, she kindly got me some more peppermint syrup which helped some but, it still wasn't what I would call a very good PEPPERMINT milk shake. To me, it was more of a chocolate milk shake with a trace of peppermint. I think they need to use more peppermint syrup in the recipe.

Overall, it was a nice treat but, it wasn't as good as I expected it to be. I think Rita's Root Beer Misto or Creamsicle Misto shakes are better. FYI, the Laurel Rita's is now open 7 days a week again. During December and January, they had reduced hours which could be annoying at times. I remember having a hankering for 1 of their misto shakes only to find them closed. While I was there today, they seemed to be doing a decent amount of business especially with the cold weather. Hopefully, the winter weather will be behind us soon here in Maryland and, a Rita's ice will be even more enjoyable with the warmer weather. They're a great way to cool off. Happy Sipping All!!!!!

Weaver's Turkey Jerky Review

One of the products I particularly like at Beiler's Meats located at 9701 Ft. Meade Road in Laurel, Maryland is Weaver's Turkey Jerky. The jerky has a nice flavor and is cheaper than their various beef jerky's. Also, the jerky doesn't have any Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), has a good shelf life (up to a year) though it must be refrigerated once it's opened and, I believe is lower in fat than beef jerkys. Lastly, it's cheaper than other beef jerkys (this may not longer be true, see update) . Beiler's sells it for $16 a pound (definitely not true any longer, see update) though the shopper can save a $1 a pound if they buy an entire 2 pound package of the jerky like I do (no longer true). The only downside I see to this turkey jerky is it's not widely available throughout the United States. The jerky is made in Lebanon, Pennsylvania and is limited to various markets in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware (based on information from their website http://godshalls.com/. I believe the reason I can get it in Maryland is because Beiler's is part of a Dutch Market in Laurel.

Overall, Weaver's turkey jerky is good jerky for those who like jerky. It has gotten more expensive recently (at one time Beiler's was selling it for $13.50 a pound) but, it's still a very good product. Jerky lovers may not be pleased that it comes in only the standard flavor unlike Oberto's which offer their turkey jerky in teriyaki and peppered as well as regular flavor. But, it's still a good product and worth buying providing you can find it. Happy eating all!

Update January 1, 2016: A couple days before New Year's, I stopped by Beiler's Meats at the Laurel, Maryland Pennsylvania Dutch Market and decided to get some more Weaver's Turkey Jerky. I confess I haven't bought it in a while and, I got one heck of a shock when I found out how much the price has gone up on it. The jerky is now selling for $19.50! a pound though you can get a 20 cent a pound discount at Beiler's if you buy an entire 2 pound package of it. I don't know why it has gone up this much though part of the reason may be the avian flu that hit a bunch of turkeys here in the U.S. and caused turkey prices to go up. However, that is very much a guess on my part. I still think it's very good jerky. However, the high price may discourage some folks from buying it and, I can understand that. I won't be buying as much of it myself. Cheers all!

Wasa Museum

Another neat ship I told the lady at EZ Storage about was the Swedish warship Wasa. The ship was ahead of its time in that it was the first double decker warship. If the ship had worked, it would've given the Swedish Navy a huge advantage in naval combat. Unfortunately, ship building at that time was hit and miss and, this ship missed. The ship was top heavy. Swedish naval authorities knew the ship had problems. Swedish Vice Admiral Klas Fleming was present during a test done at the ship's pier where 30 men ran up and down the rigging. The ship nearly capsized at the pier. Fleming is reported as saying he wished the King (Gustav II Adolf) were there. Presumably so, the King could see the problems his ship had.

On August 10th, 1628, the ill-fated ship set sail. It didn't even make it out of the harbor before the ship heeled to port, took massive amounts of water through its gun ports and capsized. Later, in 1956, Anders Franzen researched and searched for the sunken Wasa. With the help of diver Per Edvin Falting, he successfully found the Wasa. He would arrange salvage and, in 1961, the Wasa returned to the surface. In 1990, the museum that displays the Wasa was opened (Source:http://www.vasamuseet.se/en/The-Ship/Life-on-board/).

The ship is incredible and 95% original. It looks very much like a ghost ship. Also, the ship is huge. The museum that holds the magnificent ship is approximately 3 stories high. In my opinion, this museum is one of the must see museums in Stockholm. The ship is really impressive and is a time capsule into the 17th century. As far as I know, it is the only surviving 17th century warship in the world. I highly recommend this incredible museum. A web site with information in English about the ship can be found at: http://www.vasamuseet.se/en/

Solar Boat Museum

While visiting EZ Storage, I told one of the very nice ladies who runs the place about the incredible Solar Boat Museum. I told her how big the boat was, what it was made of and the history of it. Then, I tried to show it to her from my blog and found out to my disbelief, I never posted a picture of it on it. So, this is for her.

Here's my story about the solar boat. I arrived a day early into Cairo, Egypt so, I'd have time to recover from the long (10 hours 45 minutes) flight from New York City as well as get adjusted to the local time. I'd learned the hard way during my Globus Scandanavia tour that this could make a big difference at the beginning of the tour.

The Avalon Waterways people were waiting for me at Cairo International and patiently guided me through the process of getting my Egyptian visa. After that, they got my travel friend Harvey and I in a van which drove us to our extremely nice hotel the MENA House Oberoi. It was there that we met of the finest tour guides I've ever had Sami Hassan.

Once I was checked in, I met with Sami and, he asked if Harvey and I wanted to do something with our free time. As we were in reasonably good shape, we said sure. It turned out there were 8 or 9 us that flew in early. All of us were game and, Sami took us to the pyramid complex where we paid the 100 Egyptian Pounds to get in then led us to the Solar Boat Museum which cost us another 50 Egyptian Pounds.

The Solar Boat Museum is a museum that holds a special boat that was built for the Pharoah Cheops (also known as Khufu) to be used supposedly in the after life as the pharoah sailed round the world. It was approximately 70 feet long, made of Lebanon cedar which were apparently floated down to Egypt in rafts and was held together by special grass ropes. The boat didn't have ANY nails in it to hold it together. The boat's special grass ropes were woven through the specially drilled boards in a way that would hold the boat together. What was special about the ropes is that the grass would contract when it was watered causing the ropes to pull the boards of the boat together forming a water tight seal. The boat was buried in a special crypt/pit right next to Cheops's pyramid in pieces in a precise order so that it could easily be put back together in the afterlife. The boat was discovered in 1954. After much study, the boat was put together and displayed in the Solar Boat Museum. It is an absolutely incredible boat. Seeing this ancient boat was one of the highlights of my tour of Egypt and an unexpected bonus I wouldn't gotten to do were it not for my flying out a day early as well as for the great tour director Sami Hassan. I would heartily recommend folks check out this incredible museum. It's in the pyramid complex and behind the Great Pyramid. Here is a link to a webpage that tells more of the history of the boat: http://egyptsites.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/the-solar-boat-museum/

EZ Storage Laurel Maryland

Back in January, I decided it was time to move out of the apartment I've lived in the past 11 years. I came up with a plan where I'd move a lot of my stuff into storage first so, I could get the apartment cleaned then see about moving into an apartment some where else. One place I was familiar with storage wise is the EZ Storage facility on 8401 Contee Road in Laurel, Maryland. I've delivered mail there and, it looked like a nice facility. A big plus about the facility is they have units that are climate controlled i.e. they stay a certain temperature year round.

According to the companies website, they offer free tours of the facility and, I decided to take them up on it. I found out all the climate controlled units are in the basement level. All units have a sliding lock bar which you attach a lock to so, they are secured. The units vary in size from what would be a standard closet space to one on par with a 1 car garage. The bigger the unit, the expensive the monthly rent on it. You can find out what each size unit will cost you on their website and if the size unit you want is available at the facility you want to use. Rental agreements are from month to month and, the rent payment must be made by the 28th of each month. You can pay online if you wish at their website.

Security at the facility is very good. There are 3 layers of it. First, you must have a code given to you by the staff at the facility to get through the locked gate. Second, you must use that same code to get into the building and be able to raise the garage doors so, you can bring stuff into the facility. Third, you have the key lock on your unit. Also, there are surveillance cameras so staff can watch who is in the facility.

Hours wise, the facility is open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. 7 days a week. Office hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The office has boxes for sale as well as packing tape and locks to secure your storage compartment with. Small boxes cost $2.19 each, medium boxes are $2.99 each and large are $3.99. EZ Storage has a deal where you buy 9 boxes and, you get the tenth box for a penny. I don't know the price of the packing tape. They have 2 types of locks for sale - a steel lock for $8.99 and a brass lock for $12.99. As far as I know, they both offer the same level of security for your unit.

Staff wise, I found the staff very helpful and courteous. The partners who run the facility are equally nice and are willing to answer any questions potential customers have about the facility.

Overall, I was very impressed with the EZ Storage facility at 8401 Contee Road, Laurel, Maryland. It's very clean, well run and very secure. I like storing my stuff there though moving it there has been a big time pain. Still, it's cheaper than using professional movers. I'd highly recommend this facility to anyone. Good luck on your move!

Fuze Honey & Ginseng Green Tea

While in search of Dasani's lemon flavored water and strawberry flavored water at the Columbia, Maryland Wegmans store, I discovered that Fuze puts out a honey & ginseng green iced tea. I decided to try it.

Taste wise, I could taste the honey in the tea but, I couldn't detect the ginseng. The tea came in a 20 ounce plastic bottle and has 120 calories. Price wise, Wegmans was selling it for $1.69 which seemed reasonable enough. The tea will earn you 3 My Coke Rewards points. At Wegmans, the tea may not be in the regular part of the store. I found the bottle I tried in their restaurant section like I did with the Dasani flavored waters I bought (and will review later).

Overall, I found I liked the tea and, I wish Fuze (Coca-Cola) would put it out in larger size bottles like they do with their strawberry red iced tea and lemon iced tea (will review later) which are available in 2 liter bottles. I would definitely recommend this if you like iced tea or ginseng tea even though the ginseng flavor was very weak. Happy Drinking all!

Little Caesars Bacon Honey Mustard Wings

There's a Little Caesars pizza shop in the same strip mall that has a Shoppers Food Warehouse on Maryland  198 in Laurel, Maryland. I decided to treat myself to 1 of their already prepared pizzas. When I looked at their menu, I saw they offered various flavors of wings for sale. As I'd never tried any of their wings and, I haven't had any wings in a while, I decided to buy some. I bought their Bacon Honey Mustard wings as I like honey mustard. I got 8 wings for $6 plus tax.

I found Little Caesar's wings to be decent. I couldn't taste the bacon on them or in the sauce. The sauce itself was runny and a fair amount of it dropped off the wings into the container the wings are packaged in. The wings meat wise and size wise were average. I did like the fact Little Caesar's wings weren't breaded. I can't tell you how their price compares to other places that sell wings. The biggest plus for their wings in my opinion is that they are ready to go. You don't need to order them in advance. This can be a real convenience.

Overall, I wouldn't go out of my way to get some Little Caesars wings. They are average. In my opinion, Cluck U's wings are better. The biggest plus for Little Caesars is the convenience of being able to buy them on the spot and take them immediately with you i.e. no wait. I thought the price was alright though my readers who eat more wings may be able to tell me how the stack up against other shops that sell wings. Bon Appetit all!

Dead TMAX Battery

Today, I encountered a problem I wasn't expecting with my TMAX but, I was thankfully prepared for. The last couple days, the battery on my TMAX had been acting kind of strange. It seemed like it was low on power but, it would start the bike. However, this morning, the battery wouldn't kicked the engine over and quickly died.

Back in July 2012 (ref my July 12, 2011 post), I managed to kill the battery on my TMAX by leaving the power on for 10 minutes but not running the engine. I ended up having to get the bike towed to Heyser Cycle where the battery was replaced. While there, Heyser recommended I get a fused ring terminal with quick disconnect hooked up to my TMAX's battery so, if the battery ever died again, I could hook a battery charger up to the ring terminal and re-charge the battery. They apparently recommended having this done on all the motorbikes they sold. I agreed to have it done though it ended up costing me over $100.

Today, that money turned out to well spent. I remembered the terminal they hooked up to the battery as well as the Battery Tender Junior they sold me for $40 (lists for $39.95 on their website: http://batterytender.com/battery-tender-junior-12v-at-0-75a.html). I broke out the re-charger, hooked it up to my TMAX and waited to see if it would work. To my relief, it did.

The Battery Tender Junior has a light system that indicates what's going on with the re-charging. Flashing red light means the re-charger is receiving AC current, solid red means it is re-charging the bike's battery, flashing green means the battery is over 80% charged and solid green means the battery is fully charged. The re-charger went through the various stages as bike's battery was recharged. At 1 point, I tried to turn my TMAX on and, it came on which showed me the re-charger was working.

I don't know what caused the battery to start acting up. The only thing I can guess is the hand grip warmer I had installed on the bike. The warmer heats up the hand grips on the handle bars helping to keep my hands warm during winter riding. 1 down side to the warmer is that it doesn't automatically shut off when the bike is turned off. This means I have to make sure I turn the warmer off otherwise, it'll drain the battery. I can only guess I accidentally left the warmer on after I turned the bike off and later did turn the warmer off but not before it drained the battery down some. Thanks to the ring terminal I had hooked up to my TMAX's battery, this ended not being a disaster. I would recommend others have this done on their TMAX. Remember, the battery on the TMAX isn't easy to get to. You have to remove the mirrors, windshield and front plate in order to get to the bike's battery. Having that ring terminal installed can save you some major hassle if your TMAX dies on you battery wise. Happy riding all!

Review Neil Finn's Song of the Lonely Mountain

At the end of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as the credits roll by a song called Song of the Lonely Mountain plays. The song is performed by Neil Finn. The song tells of the dwarves quest. Finn states in an interview with Rolling Stone (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/neil-finn-reaches-epic-heights-on-song-of-the-lonely-mountain-song-premiere-20121112) that it was developed from the singing bit the dwarves sing in Bilbo Baggins home at Bag End. The song has excellent vocals, chants and someone pounding away at an anvil which goes well with the dwarven theme. Peter Jackson told Finn to get into "a dwarven state of mind" (Source: same Rolling Stones article referenced earlier in this post) and in my opinion, he succeeds.

Overall, I think Finn wrote and sings an excellent song that ties in well with the movie and, it's theme's. The only downside I see is the song isn't played till the credits start rolling. Would be listeners may be tempted to skip this fine tune in their rush to leave the movie theater. For those who want to listen to the tune, the referenced Rolling Stone article has a link that will bring up a Rolling Stone flash music player that will play the song for free. I've played the song a number of times on this flash player and, it works great. I would definitely recommend this song to Hobbit and Lord of the Rings fans. It goes really well with the first Hobbit movie. Happy listening all!

Lantz Restaurant

1 of the businesses I've wanted to try out at the Laurel, Maryland Pennsylvania Dutch Market is the Lantz Restaurant. It's 1 of 4 eateries in the market (5 if you count Stoltzfus Bakery). The restaurant's decor isn't anything to get excited about and, it's real charm is the Amish who work there. The lady who worked the cash register and took orders for take out was incredibly sweet. The restaurant offers dining in and take out. I decided to do take out as I didn't feel like hanging around after a LONG day at work.

I'm particularly partial to Reuben sandwiches and, I checked the restaurant's menu to see if they offered 1. They do for $5.69 (I believe) and offer a side of fries for $1.79. I thought the prices reasonable. However, I wasn't wowed with the food. The fries were limp though adequate portion wise. The sandwich was decent but nothing to go out of your way for.

Overall, I wasn't impressed with food at Lantz Restaurant. I do hope to try some of their other items and see if they're better. The restaurant prides itself on its Lancaster County recipes and, the fact there aren't any preservatives in a number of its items (Per the restaurant webpage on the market website http://www.burtonsvilledutchmarket.com/default.asp). Stay tuned for another review on this restaurant at a later date.

Maruchan Instant Lunch with Shrimp

One of handiest fast foods I can prepare at home is Maruchan's Instant Lunch with Shrimp. The instant lunch is composed of LOTS of noodles with a few very small shrimps, a few peas and a few pieces of carrot. The big pluses of this food item are the ease of preparation and the time it takes to be ready. Preparation wise, all you have to do is unwrap the noodle cup, open it, pour in boiling water and close it. In 3 minutes, your quick meal will be ready.

There are downsides to Maruchan's product. For starters, it has a LOT of sodium in it. 1 serving contains 1,120 milligrams of sodium or 47% of a person's daily requirement of sodium. Another downside in my opinion is their use of Monosodium Glutamate, a flavor enhancer that may also give you a false sense of being filled up. Last downside in my opinion is the fact you must pour boiling water into the noodle cup and wait for the food to cool off some before it's safe to eat. I would STRONGLY recommend parents be very careful with this food item when giving it to their kids. The noodle cup can be very hot initially and, there would be the risk of scalding oneself if you try to move the cup while it's still hot.

Another important note about this item is that it ISN'T microwavable according to markings on the package. People might think it is and, it's not. I would think there would be the risk of it overflowing if you tried to heat 1 of these up in a microwave oven.

Price wise, I can't quote you and exact price though I think they are very affordable (I think something like $5.70 for a box of them though don't quote me on that price) at discount clubs such as Costco and Sam's Club (the places where I buy mine) though you will have to buy a box of the cups if you buy them from such a club. Each box comes with 24 cups.

Calorie wise (quoting from the Maruchan lunch cup itself), each cup contains 290 calories with 110 of those being fat. For those who worry about trans fat, each cup has ZERO trans fats which is a good thing. However, there are apparently a fair amount of saturated fats in each cup as they provide 30% of the daily value of saturated fat.

Maruchan offers their instant lunches in 2 different flavors - chicken and shrimp. Personally, I prefer the shrimp because has actual shrimp in it whereas the chicken flavor only offers a chicken broth with the noodles and vegetables.

Overall, Maruchan's instant lunch is a handy and quick way to grab something to eat as long as you're CAREFUL when preparing it as well as giving it some time to cool off. Price wise, it can be a very affordable meal costing around 25 cents for a cup (based on a price of $5.60 divided by 24 cups in a box). Bon Appetit all!

Note: On my next trip to Costco or Sam's Club, I'll check the current price for a box of these cups and post it here.

Old City of Dubrovnik

One of the highlights of my 1st cruise last month with Royal Caribbean on Splendour of the Seas was visiting the old city of Dubrovnik. The old city still has its fortified walls, towers, narrow walkways and charm. It was awesome to get to walk around it and learn about it from my Croatian guide. At one time, the capital of the city-state of Ragusa, it was a trading power that rivaled Venice. Unbeknownst to the powers in the area i.e. Spain, Croatia (for a time) and the Ottoman Empire at that time, the Dubrovniks bought each power off and made fortunes trading with each of the powers. It remains 1 of the top tourist attractions in Croatia and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This is a picture of Stradun Street which is the main and widest street in Old Dubrovnik. All the buildings in the old city are built of stone presumably to help protect against fires.

Here is the clock tower in the old city. I thought it was pretty neat looking.

Jelly Belly Jellybeans at Arundel Mills Mall

One particular shop I like at Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover, Maryland is Sweets from Heaven. The reason I like them so much is because they offer over 40 different flavors of Jelly Belly gourmet jellybeans. Jelly Belly jellybeans are some of the best on the market and claim to be the #1 gourmet jellybean in the world. Price wise, the shop is equal to what you would pay on the Jelly Belly website http://www.jellybelly.com/Default.aspx. All the different flavors are priced at $2.25 per quarter pound (4 ounces). One particular flavor I'd recommend if you like peppermint is candy cane which is very pepperminty.

The shop sells other candies such as almond bark and candy corn though I can't tell you if those are any good. I go there just to buy Jelly Belly's. The shop is self service and, Jelly Belly's as well as a number of other candies are sold in bulk. The customer gets a bag and uses one of the scoops provided to scoop as much of each candy as they want. The shop has scales provided so, the customer can see how much they have and guesstimate how much their purchase will cost. When they're done getting what they want, they can take them up to the cashier and pay for them.

The shop's hours are:

Monday to Thursday - 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Friday & Saturday - 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday - 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

(Source: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sweets-from-heaven-hanover-3)

Happy snacking all!

A "The Hobbit" Movie Review

On Sunday December 23rd, I got to see the new movie "The Hobbit" by Peter Jackson at the Arundel Mills Mall Cinemax Theater. I'd been looking forward for some time to this movie. I expected it to be excellent and, it was. The movie is taken from the book "The Hobbit" written by J. R. R. Tolkien in 1938 though the movie does have some changes from the book.

For starters, the character of Thorin Oakenshield is developed far more. We see him as a brave and inspirational leader determined to reclaim his lost home. Also, we learn more about the Necromancer who turns out to be Sauron who hides in the fortress of Dol Guldur. Another change is the introduction of Radagast the Brown who is living what would become Mirkwood. It's Radagast that discovers the Necromancer and informs Gandalf of it. Another change is the orc Azog. Azog was the orc chieftain living in Moria who started the Dwarf-Orc war that culminated in the battle of Azanulbizar. We see the battle in the movie BUT, the battle takes a different turn from what Tolkien told. Tolkien has Azog killed in the battle by a young (32 years old) Dain Ironfoot. In the movie, Jackson has Thorin cut off part of Azog's arm and, Thorin assumes he dies of his wounds. Azog doesn't and hunts down Thorin and his company with the intent of killing Thorin.

None of these changes hurt the movie and may enhance it. I suspect we'll end up caring more for the character Thorin and his death scene with Bilbo in the 3rd movie will be far more poignant. Also, the movie helps tie in some of what we see in Lord of the Rings. We see where Gandalf got the Elven blade Glamdring and the petrified trolls we see briefly in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Concerning the 3D technology, I saw the movie in XD 3D. I didn't feel any nausea. I did notice that the images were sharper and, I think the colors were brighter. Those helped make the breathtaking outdoors scenes even more stunning. There are scenes that will knock your socks off in that way.

The movie itself is nearly 3 hours long but, it never drags. At the end, I found it hard to believe I had sat for nearly 3 hours in the theater. It didn't feel that long. There is lots of action with some humor thrown in to keep the movie from being too dark. We start to see Bilbo develop discover things about himself he doesn't know are there though I think Gandalf can see them. The movie ends at a good point with the band looking across Mirkwood to the far distant Lonely Mountain which is their ultimate objective. Jackson pans into the mountain and gives us a look inside where we see a huge eye open in a tantalizing glimpse of Smaug.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this movie. Any fan of Middle Earth should be delighted with it. It is so believable and well done. Howard Shore does another fine job score wise with the movie which helps create the appropriate moods. New Zealand itself shows its best in the movie and will tempt lots of people to visit this stunning country. Hopefully, by now, the theaters won't be so jam packed though the movie still pulled in over $35 million this past weekend. It wasn't when I saw the movie though I attended the 11:35 a.m. showing. Folks may be even tempted to see it a 2nd time as I am because, there is a LOT to take in. Happy viewing all!

Free Costco Tire Rotation

One plus you get when you buy a set of tires from Costco is free tire rotation during the life of the tires. This can save you some bucks on top of the good tire prices Costco offers. Recently, I visited the Arundel Mills (located in Hanover), Maryland Costco where I took them up on this offer again. The tire department was prompt, fast and courteous and the best part was there wasn't any charge for the service.

Another mixed blessing Costco offers tire wise is filling their tires up with nitrogen gas vice regular air. The reason they do this is so the tires maintain regular pressure at all times. Regular air expands when it gets heated and contracts (apparently) when it gets cold. This means your tire pressure can change based on the local temperatures. How inflated your tires are can have an effect on your gas mileage  Nitrogen doesn't expand or contract based on the temperature. This enables the tires to have a steady pressure and help get you more miles to the gallon. The down side is that nitrogen isn't available every where and, some of it does eventually escape the tires making it necessary for the car owner to get their tire pressure checked at Costco and if needed, get more nitrogen put in the tires. That's why I call it a mixed blessing because, it is a bit of a hassle to go to Costco to get your tires topped up with the nitrogen.

Happy driving all!

Royal Caribbean's All Access Tour

On November 16, 2012, I got to do Royal Caribbean's All Access Tour on their Splendour of the Seas ship. I thought I'd tell a bit about the tour for those who don't know what it is and what you'd get to see.

The All Access tour in a nutshell a behind the scenes tour of various areas of the ship passengers don't normally get to see. It gives them a glimpse of what life is like for crew members as well as how the ship is run. The tour does have a minimum sign up number which I guess is at least 6. I know on my first cruise, we had 4 people sign up for the tour and, the ship cancelled because that wasn't enough people. Also, the ship runs the tour while the ship is at sea. This makes it possible for passengers to take in any land tours they want to do while the ship is in port. The tour lasts at least 3 hours and, there are some narrow steps that people on the tour must be able to handle. As tour enters sensitive areas of the ship, tour members were escorted by ship security the entire tour and at 1 point, they had to undergo a security check to make sure they weren't carrying anything dangerous before they were allowed in some of the sensitive areas. Cost wise, the tour can cost $150 which I found pretty steep and kept me from taking it before. To my delight, during my 2 cruises, the Splendour of the Seas offered a special where you buy 1 get 1 free. What that means is you pay the $150 and, you get to take a friend a long for free. This breaks out to $75 per person which is the same price (or close to it) you would pay for a land excursion. I thought that reasonable.

Our tour group assembled at the customer relations desk where we were issued our special All Access badges. Then, with appropriate security escort, our tour director (sadly name forgotten) led us down into the areas never seen by other passengers.

The tour began on the 2nd deck where we met Martha Grimm, one of the ship's human relations people who lead us through the crew members club and dining room. She told us about various activities that were organized for crew members and how long the crew would serve on the ship before getting to take leave and go home. She told us that no more than 2 crew members were put in a single cabin.

After visiting the we got to visit the laundry department. The ship has its own miniature dry cleaners and laundry service with big dryers and double barrel washing machines that can wash 100 kilos of laundry at a time. Also, there are pressing machines to steam out any wrinkles in various ship uniforms. The laundry department was very extensive though it would have to be considering the staggering number of sheets, towels and crews uniforms they would need to wash.

Next, we were taken to the incinerator room where we were briefed by the environmental officer Malcolm (last name forgotten). He was in charge of making sure the ship followed all the international and national regulations concerning the disposal of liquid and solid waste. The incinerator room was more than where they burned trash. They had bottle breaker with a box underneath that caught the crushed glass which would later be recycled at various ports. Also, there was a machine for compacting cardboard boxes which were also recycled. Concerning waste water, the water would be treated on board the ship to a point where it was safe to release it. The regulations concerning where it would be safe to release it could vary greatly so, the environmental officer had to have copies of different countries rules on this in his small office.

After the briefing was over with the environmental officer, we headed up to deck 4 where we got to stand on the stage of the ship's theater and see what it was looked like for the ship's performers. One of the actresses briefed us on how the productions were run. She showed us the show manager's console that controlled the lights and coordinated things with various stage hands. Then, we headed to the men's wardrobe and the women's wardrobe where we got to see their various costumes. We found out how they changed them so fast (they use a lot of velcro which enables them to get the clothes off quick) as well as having the costumes custom fitted for each performer. Lastly, she told how performers would rotate between ship's and shows and how they would be selected for various shows.

Chief Engineer Aleksandr Petrov was the main man in charge of the ship's engines as well as surprisingly the ship's fire sensors. The engines are constantly monitored by computers who instantly show how they are running on consoles one of the ship's engineers are always monitoring them. I think each 1 of the engines could generate something like 17,000 horsepower though please don't quote me on that. As I mentioned, the other job the engineers have is monitoring the fire sensors throughout the ship. If a sensor should go off, the person in the engine room will contact ship security immediately and, they'll send someone to check it out. If need be, they can activate various fire suppressor systems in the ship.

Everyone expects great food on a cruise but, not every one knows all the hard work that goes into producing such fantastic food. My tour group got to visit the ship's galley where we were briefed by the ship's Executive Chef Michael Luik. Chef Luik has cooked for the Queen of England, the President of the United States, various European Prime Ministers and celebrities such a Phil Collins and Celine Dion. Wanting a new challenge, he hired on with Royal Caribbean and certainly found it there. He runs all the restaurants on the ship as well as managing cooks from 19 different countries with considerable different levels of ability. Some are brand new cooks while others are sous chefs who run different departments in the galley such as soups or vegetables. Also, he checks all incoming food shipments to make sure it's of the best quality and manages over 10,000 different items the restaurants and dining rooms use. Lastly and surprisingly, he also monitors the disposal of food waste to make sure it doesn't do any harm to the environment.

Last up was 1 of the highlights of the tour, we got to visit the bridge of the ship. The views from the bridge were AWESOME!!!!! We got to see the radar screens and 1 of the ship's officers briefed us on how they could identify different ships on the screens as well contact the ship's if necessary. Depending on what the ship is doing, the number of officers on the bridge can vary from 2 to 6. The more difficult the task, the more each task is broken down to prevent overload on each officer and make it possible for Captain Iv Vidos to know what exactly is happening with his ship. The ship itself is very maneuverable with front side thrusters and engine pods that can rotate 180 degrees if necessary. Also, the ship has stabilizers which are deployed when the ship is in open seas which cut down on the rocking of the ship. After a briefing by 1 of the subordinate officers, Captain Vidos himself showed up and spoke to us for a bit before very kindly agreeing to allow tour members to have their picture taken with him. I thought this was really nice.

After visiting the bridge, our tour was over. We were escorted back to the Centrum area of the ship where we were released. We were told we would receive 2 gifts as mementos from the tour. Later, I found an All Access tour tote bag and a kitchen apron in my cabin. They were very nice mementos of a great tour. If you can get the same deal I was able to get on this tour, I'd heartily recommend it. It is a very interesting tour that will show you how Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines do their "magic." Happy cruising all!!!!!

Olive Garden Italian Dressing

While shopping at my local Sam's Club, I saw they had Olive Garden's Signature Italian Dressing for sale. As I like the Olive Garden restaurant chain though I don't eat there very often, I decided to buy some of the dressing. I found the dressing very good on salad and, it does remind me of the dressing Olive Garden puts on their salads at their restaurants. I don't know if it's the same recipe or not. Price wise, the Laurel, Maryland Sam's Club is selling 2 20 fluid ounce bottles of the dressing for $6.98 excluding tax. I thought this was a reasonable price and apparently better than you can find else where. Amazon has various sellers offering the dressing starting at $8.86 for the 2 bottle pack and, that doesn't include shipping. The dressing must be refrigerated once it's opened and, it should be shaken before being poured on whatever you're going to use it on.

Overall, I definitely give this dressing a thumbs up and recommend it if you like Italian salad dressings. It has a great flavor and will remind you of the fine Olive Garden restaurant chain. Bon Appetit!!!

My 2 November Royal Caribbean Cruises

I got back late Saturday night from my 2 Royal Caribbean cruises out of Venice, Italy on their Splendour of the Seas. While there were some disappointments, overall, I had a great time and, I'll be counting the days till I go on my next 2 cruises in early Spring of this coming year.

During my cruises, I got to visit the following places:

Alberobello, Italy
Bari, Italy
Paleokastritsa, Corfu
Acheilleon Palace, Corfu
Island of Delos
Kusadasi, Turkey
Cavtat, Croatia
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Fera, Santorini, Greece
Oia, Santorini, Greece
Ephesus, Turkey
Olympia, Greece
Katakolon, Greece

What were some of the highlights? Exploring the ruins on Delos. The was the sight of the 2nd most sacred place in Ancient Greece. It was claimed the sun god Apollo was born here with his twin sister Artemis. Over 30,000 people lived on the island at one time. Another highlight was wandering the walled city of Dubrovnik. At 1 time, it was a trading power that challenged Venice. Another was visiting the incomparable Ephesus. You can see the 24,000 seat amphitheater where Saint Paul preached and was challenged by those selling souvenirs of the temple dedicated to Artemis. Also, I did the All Access tour on the ship. This tour allows guests on the ship to visit where the crew eat and party, where trash is disposed, the engine room that powers the ship, the ship's theater (the only time I'll be on the stage vice sitting before it), the ship's galley and the bridge of the ship (awesome views). The tour was awesome!!!!!! Lastly, it was great to get to visit Venice again. The place still shines in my book.

I did have some learning experiences. I found out about the bus parking lot on Venice and, I used their People Mover (1 Euro each way) twice so, I could go to and from the bus parking lot and walk on to P. Le Roma where I caught at waterbus to the Rialto Bridge and back from the Piazza San Marco. I found out where the waterbus and Alilaguna stops were at Marco Polo International Airport were as well as the cost of 24 hour tickets on both (20 and 30 Euros as I remember respectively). Also, I did have a bit of a time finding the Best Western Hotel Sant Elena. The hotel was deserving on its reputation of a fine hotel. I'd gladly recommend it.

Lastly, the crew on the Splendor of the Seas were outstanding. I had a great head waiter from India named Alick. There was a fantastic bartender named Zoltan from Hungary and a nice cabin steward named Patricia (forget what country she was from). Customer Service were solid with a great rep named Nikolay. I got to make my first ever cruise reservations at ship's Crown & Anchor desks with Johanna. Many thanks for that. And lastly, many thanks to the unsung awesome cooks on board the ship who every day fixed such fantastic food. I had to show considerable willpower to keep myself to 1 plate per meal. I didn't want to leave as cargo at the end of the 2 cruises.

If you like cruising or are interested in cruising, you should give Royal Caribbean a look. They do a consistently fine job. I've done 7 cruises with them and, I've been pleased with them every time. Also, the have an excellent frequent cruiser program (Crown & Anchor) making it very worth whiled to do a lot of cruises with them. Happy travels all!!!!!!!

Arrived in Italy

Yesterday, I arrived at Marco Polo International Airport from New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The flight was uneventful barring the flight being delayed 3 times which meant we got in an hour later.

It's been years since I was last in Venice. This time is unique in a number of ways. First, I took the water shuttle (Alilaguna) from the airport to Lido Island and later took it to the cruise ship terminal so, I could scout it out in advance. I wanted to know where exactly I had to go this Saturday.

Second, I've stayed overnight in Venice. Best Western has a very nice hotel called the Sant' Elena which is off the path of the tourist crowds but within 5 minutes by waterbus from St. Mark's Square. The hotel is in a converted convent and has nice rooms, free WiFi and a fine breakfast buffet which I tried this morning.

Third, this will be the first time I've ever sailed out of Venice or done an European cruise. Yesterday, Oceania and MSC cruise lines had ships in port at the cruise ship terminal. It looks like a very nice facility and millions of people have done cruises out of Venice thanks to it. It was something to see the MSC Armonia sail down the Guidecca Canal on its way out to sea last night all lit up. Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the Seas is supposed to sail at 4:30 p.m. (the ship I'll be on) and should have some awesome views of Venice as we sail out. Stay tuned for some pics on that.

Fourth, I'll get to sail on a different class of ship for the first time. It's Royal Caribbean's Vision Class ship. It's the 2nd smallest class ship they have. I'm looking forward to exploring it and finding out what it offers. Royal Caribbean has another Vision Class ship called Grandeur of the Seas which will sail out of Baltimore beginning in May 2013 and, I'd really like to do a cruise on that ship. So, it'll be handy to know the layout of the ship as each of the ships of a particular class are pretty much the same.

That's all to tell for now. I'll leave you with a picture I took of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice yesterday while exploring. Happy travels all!

Wegmans Organic Fruit Punch

A couple weeks ago, I visited the Columbia, Maryland Wegmans. I checked the coupons they send me in the mail and, I found 1 for that week that would get me a free 8 pack of Wegmans Organic Fruit Punch if I spent $10. I decided to try it. Their 8 pack has 8 6.76 ounce tetra pack containers. The fruit punch is 50% fruit juice and each container has 50 calories of punch. The punch is lactose free, gluten free and meets the requirements for vegetarians. Thanks to their small size, you could easily pack one of these in a lunch box and, they don't have to be refrigerated until they're opened. Also, they have a good shelf life - approximately 6 months. Price wise, I think they were priced around $2.50 though I'm not certain on that.

Taste wise, the punch didn't taste that fruity. I did think I could taste some of the juice but, I wasn't impressed with the drink overall. I've had better fruit punch. Also, I didn't like their small size. 6.76 ounces isn't a whole lot stuff to drink. Kids might like their small size but, I don't think an adult would. I did like the tetra pack thing as this makes them handy on a trip since you don't need refrigeration. Still overall, I wouldn't recommend this product. I wasn't impressed with it.

The Mark of Athena Review

Rick Riordan's "The Mark of Athena" book was released on October 2nd. The The book is the 3rd in a 5 book series called The Heroes of Olympus. The book features 7 demigods: Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Annabeth and Percy. Percy and Annabeth would be familiar to readers of Riordan's books as they were featured in his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Each of the demigods are the children of different Roman and Greek gods. 3 of them are from the Roman gods and 4 are from the Greek gods. The Roman and Greek gods were actually the same. The only difference was the Romans changed the Greek gods to reflect their thinking which was different from the Greek way of thinking. Example: The Greek god Poseidon became the Roman god Neptune. While the Romans respected Neptune, he was never as prominent in Roman civilization as he was in Greek civilization because the Roman's weren't a great seafaring people like the Greeks were. Rome was predominantly a land power.

Anyway, in The Mark of Athena, the 7 demigods come together for the first time and set off for Rome (and will ultimately head to Greece) in order to defeat the giants and the earth Goddess Gaea. Riordan throws in all kinds of surprises along the way including possessing spirits, treacherous old gods, evil nymphs and a battle with the twin giants Ephialtes and Otis as well as bits of information and dreams our heroes must figure out in order to prevail. Also, they must deal with their own inner doubts as well as their relationships with their other demigods. It makes for an an interesting tale.

Riordan does a great job of moving the story along. It never gets dull or tedious. He finds a good balance between the different demigods so, we can see what each of them are going through and thinking. One concern I've heard is that there is apparently a rumor that one of the demigods dies in the book. This doesn't happen. I do think it'll probably happen later in the series. The reason I say that is because I believe Riordan hints at it in the Son of Neptune book. Also, we learn in The Mark of Athena that the Doors of Death must be closed on both sides i.e. someone is going to have to stay on the side that is in Tartarus to close them on that side and be trapped there with all of Gaea's monster minions. We don't find out who that'll be in The Mark of Athena as our heroes at the end of the book finish their adventures in Rome in a great climactic finish and head to Greece where they'll struggle to close the Doors of Death in the 4th book of the series The House of Hades which is due out the Fall of 2013 (sigh).

Overall, the book is another outstanding read by Riordan. It moves really well. It has lots of unexpected twists and turns certain to keep the interest of his readers while occasionally showing some of Riordan's great sense of humor (I bet Coach Hedge had fun digging the coconuts out of the Argo II's hull.). I would highly recommend this book to any fans of the previous books in the series or of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. My only complaint is I'll have to wait a YEAR till they come out with the 4th book. I'll be wondering how will Percy and Annabeth make it to the Doors of Death on the Tartarus side past all of Gaea's monster minions. What new weapons will Leo come up with now that he has the Archimedes sphere. How will our heroes close the Doors of Death and prevent the Roman and Greek camps of demigods from fighting each other while preventing Gaea from awakening. They have just 1 month to accomplish all of this in the next 2 books. It guarantees lots of action with plenty of surprises thrown in by Riordan. Happy reading all!

Wegmans Rotisserie Roasted Chicken

Recently, while visiting the Columbia, Maryland Wegmans store, I decided to try their rotisserie roasted chickens. They were advertising them for $4.99 which seemed a good price. One thing I discovered while looking them over is Wegmans offers their chickens in 5 different flavors - plain, barbecue, lemon pepper, roasted garlic and Caribbean lime. As I like Caribbean stuff (see my recent review on Jamaican style spicy beef patties), I decided to try their Caribbean lime. I found it was a nice flavor and, the chicken was nicely cooked. The meat was tender and, the chicken was reasonably packed in its container. The only drawbacks I saw is you are paying a slightly higher price for the different flavors and, you don't get as much chicken for your money. Sam's Club recently lowered the price on their 3 pound roasted chickens to $4.88 (this was the price at the Laurel, Maryland Sam's Club on October 17th, 2012) which makes them slightly cheaper and, Wegmans roasted chickens weigh in at 2 pounds 2 ounces so you don't get as much chicken for your money as you do at Sam's Club. Still, it is nice to be able to choose among the different flavors. I look forward to trying their barbecue and lemon pepper flavors. If you want to try something a little different chicken wise, you might want to try Wegmans rotisserie roasted chickens. You'll find them in the prepared foods section of the store. Bon Appetit!

Update January 11, 2015: Sam's Club roasted chicken's at the Laurel, Maryland store are $4,98 now. Today, I bought one and, that is how I know the current (as of this update) price. They are still 3 pounds.

Jamaican Style Spicy Beef Patties

One food item I've bought a number of times at Sam's Club is Caribbean Food Delights Jamaican Style Spicy Beef Patties. To folks in the U.S., a pattie is a hamburger. These patties aren't hamburgers. These are basically Jamaican style beef turnovers. They're spiced beef stuffed in a corn meal type shell. Caribbean Food Delights fully bakes the turnovers so all the consumer has to do is heat them up and serve them. I have a 1300 watt microwave and, I can heat 2 of the turnovers at the same time in 2 and 1/2 minutes. I don't know how authentic the turnovers are but, they are tasty and convenient. Concerning the spices that are used in the turnovers, I personally haven't found them that hot. They're definitely not on par with Mexican food I've had. The only drawback I see with the turnovers is you must keep them frozen until you're ready to heat them up. Price wise, a box of 10 individually wrapped turnovers will cost you $10.99 (price quoted is good as of the time of this post for the Laurel, Maryland Sam's Club).

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this product. They're easy to prepare, not exorbitantly expensive and keep to keep as long as you have a freezer of some time. If you like Caribbean food, you might want to try this product. Bon Appetit!

Mega Chicken Laurel Maryland

I drive and ride on Maryland-198 a lot. As a result, I've passed by a restaurant called Mega Chicken (address 3485 Ft. Meade Rd i.e. Maryland-198) a number of times. The restaurant claims to sell charcoal cooked chicken Peruvian style. As I have fond memories of my Globus tour of Peru, I've been wanting to try out their chicken for a while. Today, I decided to treat myself to some. I bought their half chicken meal for $7.25 which comes with a small standard salad (iceberg lettuce and shredded carrot pieces) and a choice of either rice, standard french fries or yucca (sweet potato) fries. Also, they include 1 small cup each of an unidentified yellow sauce and an unidentified green sauce.

The salad was nothing to get excited about and came with a small cup of a salad dressing I couldn't identify. As I wanted to try something different, I went with the yucca fries and was glad I did. I didn't find them very sweet but, they were pretty good. I enjoyed them more than having the standard french fries. I dipped the yucca fries in the 2 different sauces. I found the yellow sauce all right and very mild. The green sauce reminded me of a dining mishap I had in Peru. During my tour there, on our way back from Paracas, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. They served a salad with the meal I ordered. There was a slice of what looked standard green pepper. I promptly stuck the whole thing in my mouth and munched it. I found out very quickly that was a big mistake. It wasn't your standard green pepper. It had plenty of zing and, I had tears coming down from the fire in my mouth. I'm pretty certain the unidentified green sauce is made with the same green pepper I had in Peru. In regards to the chicken, I found it tasty and tender. It readily came off the bone and, it was easy to eat.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with Mega Chicken. Parking was good, service was prompt and, the food was pretty good (better than good). I thought it was reasonably priced too. I particularly liked the yucca fries which is something you can't find routinely here in the U.S. I saw on the menu they offer fried plantains which I've tried once in St. Lucia and, I'd like to try again. Also, they sell the national soft drink of Peru i.e. Inca Kola. They offer it in 16 ounce plastic bottles for $1.25. This isn't the best deal as down the street at Shoppers Food Warehouse, you can get a 2 liter bottle for $1.59 I believe. I like Inca Kola but, I will warn soft drink drinkers, it tastes VERY different from your standard cola drinks (more like bubble gum). If you would like to try some Peruvian charcoal cooked chicken, this place is worth checking out.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Excursions

On Royal Caribbean Cruises webpage, you can create a log-in for their My Cruises page. This page enables you to see what cruises you've purchased or held, what ones you've saved and what cruises you've completed. Also, it allows you to access the webpage where you can reserve excursions for your upcoming cruise in advance. What's the advantage of doing that? The biggest one I can think of is avoiding having to pay for all those excursions at the end of the cruise or getting a big charge card bill afterwards. You're already going to have a few bills from souvenirs, meals you may have had at their pay restaurants or at one of the ports you made, charges for using their WiFi network on board the ship as well as any alcoholic drinks you had on board. Another plus is it guarantees you'll get on the list for the excursion instead of trying to sign up when you get on board the ship and possibly finding out the excursion is fully booked. Also, it helps you avoid the LONG lines that happen at the beginning of the cruise when EVERY ONE else wants to sign up for their excursions.

I've heard from others that you may be able to get the same excursions cheaper when you make port but, that costs you time in port having to find a place that sells the excursions though often excursions vendors will be close to where the cruise ships pull in. Also, you have to see what excursions the different companies offer vice being able to see a complete list offered by Royal Caribbean. Lastly, if you reserve your excursions in advance with them, you'll find your excursions tickets waiting for you in your cabin at the beginning of the cruise. Should your excursion for whatever reason cancel, Royal Caribbean will automatically refund you your money by giving you a credit on your SeaPass account.

Another plus if you book your excursion through Royal Caribbean is that they are obligated to wait for you if your excursion is late returning to the ship. After all, they chose the company for the excursion and, they would've told the company when you HAD to be back. If you book on your own with some other company, you're taking a chance though the company should know when you need to be back. Still, I wouldn't like the thought of the ship leaving without me. It would be a HUGE hassle to try to catch up with the cruise ship at your next port of call.

Lastly, Royal Caribbean does offer a good choice of excursions that should have something for everyone. I've gotten to go salmon fishing in Alaska through them as well as see a Tlingit Indian song and dance show. I got to see the Mayan city of Tulum while in port at Cozumel, Mexico and a sea turtle farm in Grand Cayman.  They offer scuba diving excursions at every Caribbean port I believe. In Europe, they have excursions where you can wine taste some of the local wine (I'll be doing 1 in Italy and 1 in Greece). If nothing else, checking out the excursions on the Royal Caribbean website gives you an idea of what will be available during your cruise as well as the cost. Knowing the potential costs makes it easier for you to budget for the excursions. I think this service is really handy and, I've used it myself 4 out of the 5 cruises I've done with Royal Caribbean (I wasn't aware of the service on my 1st cruise with them). Yesterday, I used it to book all the excursions I'll take for my 6th and 7th cruises in November.

FYI, the website is also useful for pre-paying for any spa services, pay restaurants or drink packages You'd like. I particularly like pre-paying for the unlimited soda package. The unlimited soda package is useful in regards to avoiding a charge on your SeaPass account for EVERY soda you drink. However, I think you have to drink 3 sodas a day to get your money's worth out of it. So, there is a trade off.

That's all for this post. Happy cruises all!

Disclaimer: I'm not in any way connected with Royal Caribbean Cruises or their parent company. Concerning my claim that Royal Caribbean will wait for you if you book your excursion through them, you might want to double check that though as far as I know, it's true. I've personally seen them do it.

John Howe Autographed Books

Yesterday, I received my latest order from WETA, the folks that create the sets for the Hobbit movies as well as the costumes, swords, armor and special effects. WETA does some incredible stuff. My order consisted of 3 books of maps that John Howe illustrated - The Road Goes Ever On and On which contains the map of Tolkien's Middle Earth, West of The Mountains East of the Sea which contains a map of Tolkien's Beleriand (a land that existed in Middle Earth's 1st Age) and There and Back Again which contains the map for Tolkien's The Hobbit. All 3 books were autographed by John Howe. Howe and Alan Lee are the 2 artists that have really defined how people envision Tolkien's Middle Earth. When Peter Jackson decided to do the Lord of the Rings movies, he hired these 2 artists to help him show what Middle Earth looked like. I think you can say that Jackson's vision of Middle Earth really is what Howe and Lee imagined it as. Howe is the artist who created the image of Bilbo Baggin's home at Bag End. The rooms that viewers saw of it in the Lord of the Rings movies and will see in The Hobbit movies were created by Howe. His vision of Middle Earth is beautiful and stunning. I wish I could afford to buy a work of his of Middle Earth. I remember seeing one at the Lord of the Rings film exhibition in Indianapolis, Indiana many years ago. It was gorgeous. Unfortunately, it had an $800 plus price tag with it which terrified my wallet. For now, I'll content myself with these 3 neat books. FYI, WETA sells the 3 book set for approximately $84 U.S. Shipping from their New Zealand warehouse was an additional $17.88 U.S. You'll earn 8 WETA dollars with your purchase. The WETA dollars are a nice bonus from shopping at WETA. They can save you real money. I used 32 of mine which knocked the price down to approximately $51 U.S. Remember too, if you spend $500 in 1 year at WETA, they upgrade you to Gold level which gets you an extra 10% more WETA dollars getting you an even better deal. Happy reading all!

Venice Italy

This is a photo I took of the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy in 1996. I was in the Air Force at the time. I got tagged to do a temporary duty assignment to Italy. On my free time, I decided to take a train to Venice. I was glad I did. I found the place incredible. It's only town I know of that you would need a motorboat to get around. Also, it gives a whole new meaning to the word alleyway. I tried walking from the train station to the Piazza San Marco and took numerous wrong turns ending in canals cutting me off. The Venetians did this intentionally for defensive purposes. As Venice doesn't have any walls to protect it, it would've been easy enough to invade. But, would be invaders would've quickly ran into the same canals cutting them off like I did. Only a native Venetian would've known where the bridges were that linked all the various islands.

Venice was the capital of the Republic of Venice. This republic was a rich and power state for many centuries. It was the link between Europe and the Far East. It got very rich off the spice trade. The glory of that was the most serene republics as it was called can still be seen in the stunning buildings like the Ducal Palazzo and Basilica of Saint Mark in Venice.

Why did I bring up this old photo? Because to my great delight, I'll finally get to see Venice the beginning of November of this year. I'll fly in, have a free day to explore and remember my visits back in 1996 and then, I'll get to sail out of Venice for the first time on my first ever European cruise. During the cruise and its sister cruise, I'll get to explore the Greek Islands as well as visit Athens for the 1st time. I've heard Athens is dirty but, I still want to see the birthplace of democracy. Plus, it'll be something to see the stunning Acropolis. I'll make sure I post pictures on my blog so, you my readers have some interesting posts to look forward to. Happy travels all!

Laurel California Tortilla Closed

This may be old news to some but, I thought I'd post on it any way. A couple weeks ago while I was delivering mail in the Contee Road and Route 1 area, I noticed that the Laurel California Tortilla was closed. Their outside sign had been removed and, I didn't see any activity inside the former restaurant. I was saddened by their closure as I felt they sold good food which was prepared quickly. I was curious why they closed as from I'd seen, they did a good bit of business.

I found a post by California Tortilla's Marketing Manager on www.yelp.com dated July 5, 2012 stating that the restaurant franchisee had been unable to come to suitable terms with the landlord regarding the future use of the property. California Tortilla corporate tried to put in a new owner for the restaurant but failed. So, the restaurant was permanently closed. The marketing manager also stated that California Tortilla hopes to return to Laurel soon. Anyone who has any further questions about the closing can email California Tortilla at: skane@californiatortilla.com.

I hope the chain succeeds in opening a new Laurel restaurant. I liked them a lot. I thought their chicken honey lime burritos were particularly good. Also, I liked their turkey chili. I'll let my readers know if I hear anything more on California Tortilla re-opening in Laurel. Happy dining all!

Reminder HRC All Access Ends September 30th

Greetings all! I wanted to remind any readers I have that Hard Rock Cafe's All Access club ends September  30th. After that, any rewards you've earned will be trashed. Today, I visited their Baltimore cafe just so I could use up the $140 in rewards I'd earned and saved up. An FYI for you, you can't exchange your rewards for a Hard Rock Cafe gift card. I tried that so I wouldn't have spend my rewards. The system wouldn't take it. So, I ended buying various things in the merchandise shop like their cards and chip set and a fleece I could use this fall. Also, apparently the powers that be at Hard Rock Cafe are keeping word of their new reward program under wraps. I asked the sales guy in the merchandise shop what he'd heard. He knew as much as me. It remains to be seen what the new program will be like. I know it'll have 1 feature I'll like i.e. I'll be able to earn rewards at ALL the cafes, not just the ones corporate owns as it is with All Access. However, Hard Rock has mentioned a possible fee for a certain tier. That isn't good for me as at times, I don't visit their cafes that much. Today's visit to the Baltimore cafe was my first visit since I visited their Aruba cafe last November. We'll see what works out with their new program. I'll post whatever I find out as soon as Hard Rock Cafe gives me the info. Keep on rocking all!

Demigod Diaries Review

I thought I'd write a book review on Rick Riordan's Demigod Diaries. The book takes its name from the first story in the book about a diary Luke Castellan starts keeping. Luke is the demigod that goes bad in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series before redeeming himself at the end by stopping Kronos, King of the Titans. The story tells of Luke and Thalia on one of their early adventures and how they meet up with Annabeth. The book also has stories involving Percy and Annabeth; Jason, Leo and Piper and a story by Riordan's son Haley. Haley is the reason the Percy Jackson books were written. Riordan created the character to entertain his son and, I think to encourage him with his ADHD which made it hard for him to read. Haley's story is interesting and well written. It tells of what happens to a demigod that fought on the side of the titan's. I confess I was curious what happened to those though I thought most of them would show up at Camp Halfblood after the deal Percy worked out with Zeus and the other major gods and goddesses. Lastly, the book has some small games in it like a word search and a scrambled name game where you have to figure out the names on the 7 demigods that will go on the quest to Rome and on to Greece. Anyone who has read the first 2 books of the series The Heroes of Olympus should know who they are.

Overall, the book is nice. For me, it served as a tide me over till the book I'm really waiting for comes out in October i.e. Mark of Athena. That's when the action will start building in The Heroes of Olympus series. Riordan gave some hints about what'll happen in that book on his blog as well as some in the Son of Neptune book. Fans of Riordan's Percy Jackson books should enjoy Demigod Diaries. It even has some pictures of their heroes such as Thalia, Percy, Annabeth, Piper and Jason (I think they've used the Piper and Jason pics before as I saw them some where else). Happy reading all!

Royal Caribbean Wi-Fi Update

Recently, Adam Goldstein, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International posted on AnsweritRoyally (http://www.answeritroyally.com/blog/?p=5043) about how Royal Caribbean is trying to connect with social media such as Facebook. Goldstein asked for comments on how people use social media to share their vacation experiences as well as how they disconnect from their normal world while on vacation with Royal Caribbean. Also, there was a link to an interview Goldstein did with Travel Weekly (http://www.travelweekly.com/In-the-Hot-Seat/Royal-Caribbean-Internationals-Adam-Goldstein/). This article is noteworthy because Goldstein mentions how Royal Caribbean is working on offering faster Wifi connections. Royal Caribbean will be partnering next summer with a company called O3b who has a satellite network that will offer "speeds normally available only on land" with their Oasis of the Seas ship in the Caribbean. This should deal with one of the complaints customers have had about slow connection speeds. It remains to be seen if Royal Caribbean will expand this service to other ships and what the cost of the new service will be.

Concerning cost, Mr. Goldstein was kind enough to answer a comment of mine about Wi-Fi rates on his Splendour of the Seas ship. I'll be cruising on Splendour of the Seas this November and, I wasn't sure if the Wi-Fi rates in Europe would be the same as they are in Alaska and the Caribbean. Mr. Goldstein referred me to an FAQ page Royal Caribbean has on their website (http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/whatToKnow/topTenFAQs/detail.do?pagename=top_10_faqs&pnav=4&snav=2&faqId=310&faqSubjectName=Top+10+FAQ&). My take on this page is that there is a FLEET WIDE standard rate for Royal Caribbean's Wi-Fi service. One note I have to make about this page is that a number of Royal Caribbean's ships offer Wi-Fi throughout the ship vice in 6 designated hot spots as the webpage states. Based on the number of ships Royal Caribbean has upgraded in this way, I think Wi-Fi will eventually be available throughout the entire ship on all of Royal Caribbean's ships if it isn't already. I believe this would increase the number of people using the service as it'll be more convenient. It is a bit of pain having to haul your laptop to a hotspot.

On the cost again, I'm looking forward to finding out in November if Platinum Crown & Anchor Society members get a better discount on the ship's Wi-Fi. I know Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members from August 2011 to February 2012 received a coupon in their value booklet for 45 minutes of free time on the Internet as well as a coupon for 25% off on any Internet package. This is one of the ways it can pay to be a member of their frequent cruiser program i.e. Crown & Anchor Society. Happy surfing all!

Update: September 11th, 2013

Crown & Anchor Platinum members do get a better discount. You get an extra 5% off on pre-paid packages. I forget if you got a better set dollar amount off with the coupon. Later this month, I'll get to sail as an Emerald member for the first time and, I'll get back with this post and let you know if you get a better discount as an Emerald member.

Also, Royal Caribbean is upgrading all its ships to where Wi-Fi will be available throughout the ship. However, the upgrade won't take place on each ship till it goes in for re-fit so, it could take a while before it's available ship wide fleet wide.

Update April 30, 2016: Please see my update on my first post about Royal Caribbean's WiFi. It tells about comments made by Royal Caribbean Chief Executive Office Michael Bayley and about them installing their new VOOM WiFi system on all their ships.

Costco Member Prescription Program

Yesterday, while I was collecting my latest Propecia refill at the Arundel Mills Costco, I found out they have a new member prescription program. The lady at the prescription counter was kind enough to tell me about it and enroll me. The program doesn't cost anything to Costco members and can save them between 2 and 40% on their prescriptions. However, the program isn't available to all Costco members. If you have prescription drug coverage or receive benefits from either Medicare or Medicaid, you're not eligible. Also, not all Costcos offer the program. If want to find out if your Costco does off the program, you need to call Costco at 1-800-806-0129. In regards to my Propecia, the program saved me $7. A 90 day supply of the drug normally costs $214 but thanks to the program, my refill cost me $207. Not a great savings but better than nothing. I would recommend Costco members check into the program if they think they're eligible. With money tight now a days, the savings in this program can help.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas Video

When I did my 2nd cruise with Royal Caribbean, I received an unexpected bonus with my cruise. As luck would have it, the Oasis of the Seas was in port the same day my ship Navigator of the Seas was leaving. This gave me a chance to see the ship for the first time albeit at a distance. The ship is very impressive. The ship is unique (barring its sister ship Allure) in that the interior of the ship is open to the elements and changes what would've been interior cabins. Guests on board the ship can look out on either the only class of ships to have a park with real plants growing (over 15,000 of them!) or watch a show put on by the Aqua Theater (it has the largest and deepest pool on a cruise ship - 1 million gallons of water and 16 feet deep!) from their balconies. I'd heard about a video that was made showing the behind the scenes goings on with the Oasis and tried finding to no avail. Then, to my great surprise, the unofficial Royal Caribbean blog (http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/) posted it on August 4th. The video is over 46 minutes long and shows various goings on during the maiden cruise of the Oasis. It's filled with all kinds of facts like how much the ship cost (over $1 Billion dollars), how much luggage they have to deliver to the various cabins (over 15,000 pieces) or how much stuff (21 truck loads) they have to load on the ship to accommodate its passengers (over 1,000 rolls of toilet paper alone!). The ship's captain Captain Wright correctly states the ship was intended to WOW people and, it clearly succeeds. It and its sister ship the Allure are the largest cruise ships in the world. They can accommodate 5,400 passengers and over 2,000 crew. The ship is over 1,000 feet long and 154 feet in width (which helps its stability). The video also shows what Royal Caribbean did in conjunction with various agencies to prepare for the ship like the massive upgraded cruise ship terminal at Ft. Lauderdale or the dredging at the main port in the Bahamas.

Overall, the video is really fascinating though I will warn you, it will tempt you seriously to do a cruise on the Oasis. I hope to do 1 some day but, I'm not in any hurry because of the ship's itineraries. On its or the Allure 7 days cruise, you can expect to spend 3 days in port and 3 DAYS at sea. That'll give you plenty of time to explore the ship but, I'd rather be exploring some port I've never been to. At the time of this posting, a friend from work and his wife are sailing on the Oasis. They'll get to visit the new port of Falmouth (built with the Oasis class in mind), Royal Caribbean's resort at Labadee, Haiti and make port at Cozumel, Mexico which I got to visit on the same cruise I saw the Oasis. It's a decent cruise but, I'd prefer to do either the cruises I'll do in November when I visit 10 ports in 14 days (none of which I've ever been to before) or the 2 cruises I did this past November when I visited 9 Caribbean islands in 14 days. I cruise to see stuff not check out all the stuff on the boat though that can impress too like Royal Caribbean's Voyager class ship having an ice skating rink on the 3rd deck. A reminder, the video can be found at: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/ Happy viewing and dreaming of far away places!

Update: September 15, 2013

This video can also be found on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyaJ2cUX6K0. I watched it again today and, it remains a really interesting video of the ship's operations. It's like the All Access tour I did on Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the Seas but, you get to see the ship's personnel actually in action whereas on All Access tour, you see some of the behind the scenes things.

Pre-order Demigod Diaries

Rick Riordan's Demigod Diaries are available for pre-order with Books-a-Million and presumably with Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Books-a-Million are offering the book for $10.98 plus shipping. If you belong to their Millionaires Club, you get free Express shipping with your order. The book will be available August 14, 2012.

The book has stories by Riordan on adventures by Thalia, Luke and Annabeth (before the Percy Jackson adventures began), adventures by Jason, Leo and Piper, an adventure with just Annabeth and Percy and finally a really intriguing one by Riordan's son Haley. The story tells of what happens to a demigod that fought for the titans in Manhattan and survived the battle. Personally, I doubt that demigod's fate would be good as the gods aren't going to be kind to one who fought against them. Also, it was Haley who caused the whole Percy Jackson thing to begin as Riordan created it for his son Haley. Lastly, this book will be a good way for those of us who are hooked on Riordan's books to assuage our addiction till Mark of Athena comes out in October (I'm getting a little tired of re-reading Son of Neptune).

Maryland Columbia & Crofton Wegmans Hiring

I signed up for emails from Wegmans which tells me of various promotions. To my surprise, on July 30th, I received one saying they were accepting applications i.e. hiring full time restaurant cooks and various part time positions at its Columbia, Maryland store and, at its future Crofton, Maryland store which will according to the email open in October 2012. While I don't have any interest in working for them (I have all the hours I could want at my post office), I thought this would be worth passing on to my Maryland readers with the job situation out there.

According to the email, Wegmans has been rated as 1 of the top 100 companies to work for the last 15 years. As I don't have any friends nor have I ever worked at Wegmans, I can't say how reliable this ranking is. Also, it claims competitive pay, flexible scheduling and growth i.e. promotion opportunities. In regards to these claims, I have no idea how valid they are.

My only experience with Wegmans is shopping at their Columbia, Maryland store. I've found the store clean, well organized, has good prices and has helpful staff. Shopping wise, I'd heartily recommend them. Work wise, I can't make any recommendation. Still, if you need a job, I think they'd be worth a look. In regards to getting an application, here is the link they gave in their email:

http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&identifier=CATEGORY_533&sc_cid=em_FNSA_RecruitmentCrofColu073012&em_uid=31303595

Best of luck to you if you decide to apply.