Leaping Lizards... Uh... WHALES!

Yesterday when we were having a cup of coffee outside around noon, we saw a couple of big splashes offshore. Could that have been a giant ray? No... It kept happening and then we saw TAILS.

HOW COOL

Sorry, but no pictures. I wasn't going to miss out on the action while going to fetch my camera. Besides, it would probably have been too small to see anything.

So it goes...

New Steve Martin DVD/CD

I received an email from Amazon.com this morning announcing Steve Martin's new album/ video that was just released on March 11, 2014. Click on the link or image below and you can watch a full length video track of Steve and the Rangers performing "Pretty Little One".

Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers featuring Edie Brickell Live [CD+DVD]

EDITORIAL REVIEW (from Amazon.com):

Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers, featuring Edie Brickell, will release their first ever live concert CD/DVD package capturing their extraordinary performance at the historic Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside California last fall. The live performance was recorded for PBS Great Performances and features material from Martin and Brickells Grammy-nominated album Love Has Come For You, as well as music from Martins Grammy nominated collaboration with The Steep Canyon Rangers, Rare Bird Alert, and his Grammy Award winning album The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo. This special live CD/DVD features Martins unique blend of comedy and bluegrass and is a first class evening of excellent entertainment.

Disc one has 19 tracks and disc two has 21 tracks. That's a lot of entertainment for around $16.

One of my favorite skits from long ago is Steve's "Cat Handcuffs" routine but it is no longer available on their mp3 store. Good thing I already have it.

But, while looking for "Cat Handcuffs", I saw a song off Steve Martin's Red Bird Alert album with Paul McCartney singing "Best Love" (click here for sample).

Enjoy!

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Happy Mardi Gras

What a wonderful day for Mardi Gras

Enjoy!

Trans-Atlantic Passage Opportunity

I just wanted to pass along this fantastic opportunity to make a transatlantic passage with a very experienced crew and well-founded yacht.

TransAtlantic Crossing Charter: Yacht ANAHITA May-June 2014
Cross the Atlantic Ocean with Charter Yacht Anahita this Spring

The charter yacht ANAHITA, a 62-foot Dynamique sloop, has an opening for two paying crew on their 6th eastbound trans-Atlantic crossing. This is an excellent opportunity to get some sea miles and a unique adventure. Join Captain Bijan and Chef Roseanne in St. Thomas, USVI for the May 1st departure.

Read more HERE...

Testing...Tsunami Warning

This morning while having morning coffee in bed, there was a series of amplified tones coming from the shore. We could hear the warning tones but didn't catch the message until the third time that it was a test (and only a test) of the tsunami warning system.

Tsunami sign on St Croix, USVI

Our cats heeded the message, headed to the high ground of a cabinet, and were anxiously looking about waiting for us to do something.

Boat Bits has an interesting link to an article titled: Deadly Caribbean Tsunami Risk Overlooked

Actually, we have been having tsunami-size wakes from the mini-cigarette boats all morning as this is a holiday and also the last day of the St Croix Ag Fest.

W O W... Did we just get tossed about! It was one of those dump everything that's not bolted down onto the floor type of wakes. I grabbed on to the computers while Bob tried to control the knocked over coffee pot and other stuff (a hurtling cabbage is quite a scarey thing).

After basic damage control I ran outside and it appears that it was one of the ferries that are transporting people over from St Thomas to the Ag Fest. Fortunately, it only happens once a year and this is its last day.

Here comes another one... Battle stations :)

So it goes...

A Caturday Photo

Here's a picture I like of "The Slayer"

Happy Caturday!

Happy Valentine's Day

My goodness... it's the middle of February already... and it is 2014 (I keep typing 2012).

But that's OK because it is Valentine's Day and we also have a 3-day weekend with Monday being President's Day.

Hope you are having a good one, too!

Hmmm... it's too quiet today... Might listen to some HEART

Round Reef, St Croix - Boat grounding, continued

There was an article in the St Croix Source about the recent grounding of a ship on Round Reef, St Croix, USVI...

Ship Grounding Tore Gash in Coral Reef
BY SOURCE STAFF - FEBRUARY 7, 2014


I think that an improved marker buoy would be nice... Maybe a billboard?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Rowan Atkinson

Rowan Atkinson

Yesterday I watched a fun video on YouTube (more about that below) and looked up Rowan Atkinson on imdb to see who the woman was in this video (I'm sure she's the daughter from Ab Fab) and discovered that his birthday is TODAY, January 6th (Epiphany or Three Kings' Day). He was born in 1955.

In my opinion, I think that Atkinson is a very skilled comedian, actor, and writer. I love Black Adder and watched the Black Adder's Christmas Carol over the holidays. His Mr. Bean character is difficult for me to watch as he makes me nervous, though I do enjoy Mr. Bean's Holiday with him bumbling through France.

I didn't realize that he participated in The Secret Policeman's Balls. We used to have this on VHS and will have to get the DVD. Another blast from the past that I'd like to have is The Best of Not the 9 O'Clock News. We loved the comedy shows on BBC Radio 4 that would later become TV shows (such as Yes, Minister).

Perhaps you received an Amazon Gift Certificate that you'd like to redeem or, if not, just plonk down your plastic to get one of these :)

Click on an image to go to its Amazon DVD page

Here's the YouTube video I watched yesterday. It is a brilliant spoof of Doctor Who performed for a Comic Relief Red Nose Day telecast in 1999, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Richard E. Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, Julia Sawalha, Jonathan Pryce, and, must not leave out Roy Skelton who is the voice of the various Daleks.


There is a wikipedia page about it HERE.

Have a great day!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR

BONNE ANNEE

Wishing you and yours a wonderful new year.... healthy, prosperous, safe and FUN!

and So It Goes !

Simon's Cat, Christmas 2013

Here's an episode of Simon's Cat for Christmas 2013. Enjoy!




Ho Ho Ho, So It Goes...

It pays to be polite

This sign from a French cafe Tweeted by @tokai06, a journalist in Nice, shows that it is to your benefit to be polite...

The sign is giving the price of a standard small espresso when seated on the terrasse or sidewalk.

• If you only say "a coffee" the price is 7 euros
• If you say "a coffee, please" the price is 4.25 euros
• But, if you correctly order it by saying "Good morning, a coffee, please" you are rewarded with the price of 1.40 euros.

Such a deal...

Thank You Charter Yacht Trimaran PROMENADE

I would like to thank the charter yacht Promenade, a 65-foot Nigel Irens trimaran, for putting me up (and putting up with me) for the two Virgin Islands charter yacht shows held earlier this month (Nov.2013) in St Thomas and Tortola. It was very much appreciated.

Trimaran Promenade Yacht Charters - Sail/Dive the BVIs - Crewed Caribbean Charter Yacht

Virgin Islands Sailing Vacations

It was great to spend time aboard Promenade (one of our favorite charter yachts). After spending 5 nights aboard, I had a good feel for the boat and a better knowledge of the crew than just a 10-20 minute visit at the annual boat show.

Captain Chad, First Mate Felix and General Dogsbody Chris are excellent. Friendly and attentive but not pushy. The food was good, too! Very accommodating folks.

Promenade has 5 guest cabins and accommodates up to 10 (and possibly 12) guests. They offer all-inclusive charters. Chad is a dive instructor so diving is available for certified and non-certified divers. Promenade has lots of water toys, beach games, power lounger, exercise equipment such and weights and yoga stuff, fishing gear, dancing... etc!

AllAboutYachtCharters has a post with comments from a recent client and lots of information about Promenade, read this post.

They also have a cabin cruise week open beginning February 16, 2014. There are currently 3 cabins available. This is a wonderful opportunity for joining a group and charter only one of the five cabins. Great prices, too.  7 nights = $4000/cabin (price for 2 guests, not each person) or 10 nights for $5000/cabin. See more HERE.

Here's a link to Promenade's online brochure.

Oh yes... Promenade available for this Christmas, too. Special Rates for Christmas week: Only $12,000 for up to 6 guests, add $750 for each additional guest (8 guests=$13,500, 10 guests=$15,000)

Promenade is an excellent choice for families, friends, and corporate charters. Excellent for active groups, party-hearty sorts, those who want a relaxing vacation, or a combination.  Lots of space as it is a 65-foot long and 35-foot wide trimaran.

Thanks again, guys!

WEST MARINE THANKSGIVING DAY SALE

Happy Thanksgiving & Hanukkah...

Just a quick post to let you know that West Marine is having a wonderful sale today (THANKSGIVING DAY). We have already placed an order.

THIS SPECIAL OFFER HAS EXPIRED

This was perfect timing for us as we had planned to buy a set of 4 inflatable fenders and we got them for 15% off which more than paid for the cost of shipping!  Such a deal :)

Happy holidays!

ZENNI OPTICAL: Half price sale

UPDATED: 2 December 2013

UPDATED: 29 November 2013

Here's another bargain that I feel I must share...

Zenni Optical sent us an email to inform us about their special offer that's good for the "Black Friday" weekend...

http://www.zennioptical.com

I inquired about this Wednesday afternoon with their online chat. I told them that we wanted to order 2 pairs of glasses each and would this half-off offer apply to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th pair, even though it was for 2 different people/prescriptions.

She said YES.  And, she affirmed that it is not just the frames but the cost of your frames and lenses with add-ons such as tint & progressives, for example.  (I asked twice, so we'll see!) We just need to enter the code boho2013 for this special offer at checkout and it will do the calculation for us. HURRAY!  Easy!

UPDATE - 29 NOVEMBER 2013: Today I did a test order with 3 pairs of glasses. It gave me the discount on one pair.  The special does say "Buy One, Get ONE 1/2 off".  Which is still a very good deal.  Now we just have to make a final decision and get our 4 pairs :)

UPDATE - 2 DECEMBER 2013: Today we ordered 4 pairs of glasses. We were charged full price for the two most expensive pairs and half price on the other two pairs.

 DOING THE HAPPY DANCE!

Their standard prices are great but I was hoping for a Black Friday or Christmas sale. I am a very happy camper.  Now we just have to decide on frames and place the order before 11:59pm (PST) on Monday, December 2, 2013.

So it goes!

Beaujolais Nouveau Day

Today, 21 November 2013, is Beaujolais Nouveau Day.

What a day to celebrate!!!

Beaujolais Nouveau Day is marked in France on the third Thursday in November with fireworks, music and festivals. Under French law, the wine is released at 12:01 a.m., just weeks after the wine's grapes have been harvested. Parties are held throughout the country and further afield to celebrate the first wine of the season.

Read more about it here: http://www.beaujolaisnouveauday.com/

Do you enjoy wine and French culture?  You might find an all-inclusive charter on a French canal barge interesting... Check out http://www.bargecharters.com

À la vôtre!

World Toilet Day

Today, November 19th, is World Toilet Day.

This sounds fun and frivolous but it is actually a serious global matter. Read more about it at http://worldtoiletday.org.

I love their logo!

Something smells fishy...

Willow was very proud of the fish that she and her sister found. She brought it into the boat to share.

What a nice, thoughtful kitty!

So it goes...

Talk Like a Pirate Day... TODAY!

I'm usually too late but not this year.

TODAY, September 19th, is International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

The boat at the beginning is passing Hotel on the Cay which is the little island (Protestant Cay) in Christiansted Harbor, not too far from us.

The next bit with Tom Mason & Blue Buccanneer singing is where we get our water from... Kenjo's Place as we call it, but otherwise known as the Comanche Yacht-Less Club. It's the place with the sugar mill replica on the Christiansted waterfront.

Check out the official website: http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

Faire winds, me bucko!

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Interesting Solar Powered Laptop Computer

Bob brought this to my attention...

SOL: The Rugged $350 Ubuntu 10-hour Solar Laptop

Here's a post from Gizmag: Aug 7, 2013

It is mentioned on the Sailing Anarchy forum: Click here for thread

And, here's their website: http://solaptop.com/en/

Enjoy!

Warren, Has it really been TEN years?

Wow, it's been ten years since Warren Zevon died? Such a great songwriter and performer.

Here's an interesting article from The Guardian: Warren Zevon: the man behind the demons
It was originally published on August 1, 2013 which is why the timeline might seem a bit off.

This article mentions "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Life and Times of Warren Zevon" which is a book written by his ex-wife, Crystal. It is available from Amazon on Kindle and other formats.

Something else you Zevon fans might like is a songbook.  Add a few of Warren's songs into the normal Buffet singalongs and spice things up a bit!

We have the paperback version which is nice because you can write in it and it is a large size:
The Warren Zevon Guitar Songbook (Guitar Songbook Edition) Paperback

But it also comes in Kindle, which I might get as well...
The Warren Zevon Guitar Songbook (Guitar Songbook Edition) [Kindle Edition]

Amazon has a "Click to see inside" so you can see the table of contents and an example of the songs. Nice.

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Long weekends... ahhhh

I always dreaded Labor Day because we had to go back to school the next day after having three months off...

What is Labor Day?

For most people, Labor Day means two things: a day off and the end of summer.

The first Monday of September is set aside to pay tribute to working men and women. It has been celebrated as a national holiday in the United States and Canada since 1894.

Read more: http://www.history.com/topics/labor-day

I'm hoping I can find a decent avocado and whip up some guacamole.

August 2013 - No complaints here!

We just noticed that there is a new weather system out there, Invest 96L. Here's an image from last night (Aug 29, 2013) at 8:00pm.

Invest 96L - Aug 29, 2013 20:00 EDT

Not so bad for us but perhaps not so good for those in the Canary Islands.

Dr. Jeff Masters' Wonderblog had a couple of interesting things today:

The end of August is upon us, and with just one day remaining in the month, the remarkably quiet Atlantic hurricane season of 2013 is highly likely to be just the 6th season since the Hurricane Hunters began flying in 1944 without a hurricane forming by the end of August (the other years: 2002, 2001, 1988, 1984, and 1967.) Although there have been two tropical storms in August (Erin and Fernand), these storms were weak and short-lived, and August 2013 had one of the lowest Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) totals on record for an August in the Atlantic... [more]

Color me a happy camper!

Keep the dream

Wow, 50 years... you'd think we'd be farther along...

Everyone should watch this once and a while to keep their dream alive and make a reality.


If you want a shorter version (5:18), CLICK HERE

FREE First Timers Guide to Mexico from Latitude 38

I haven't looked at this yet but I decided to download it now while I'm thinking about it and puruse it later.

Latitude 38's First Timers Guide to Mexico

CLICK HERE

I've downloaded this to my desktop and I will upload it to my Amazon Kindle Cloud via email so we can then download it to our Kindle devices (Kindle, Android tablets).

Enjoy!