Showing posts with label Royal Caribbean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Royal Caribbean. Show all posts

Saturday, February 15, 2025

From St. Augustine to the Bahamas, Part 2

Red Carpet Inn kitty
Monday, February 10, 2025
'Tis the day for leaving the land for the open seas. We didn't exactly rise with the sun this morning, but neither did we dawdle departing our Fort Lauderdale lodgings. Before we left, a local feral cat took up what we assume was his traditional lounging spot outside our door; he was not at all keen on being handled, but he appeared otherwise healthy and seemed comfortable enough around us (he probably knew we were cat people). I hope he will be okay for the long haul.

During our single-night stay in Fort Lauderdale, we had only a limited view of the city, and I'm sure there are plenty of lovely places for residents and visitors alike to enjoy, but we mainly experienced Just Another City in Florida, as apart from St. Augustine, they seem to blend one into another into another into another along the state's eastern coast.
 
Check-in on the ship went smoothly, so once settled into our suite, we headed for lunch in the Windjammer, the standard Royal Caribbean buffet-style restaurant on board. A very good martini accompanied. Afterward, Terry and I planted ourselves in the exclusive Crown Club lounge, (membership to which is one of the perks he & Beth have earned for cruising, like, a lot, and which fortunately extends to their guests of peasant status). We hung out for about an hour, drank coffee, and yakked until we both finally had to get up and go pee.

Dinner was in the main restaurant, and we secured a table in a nice, quiet corner where we met a nice couple, Andy and Mary Beth from Missouri. I had some excellent escargot and some sad fried chicken. Can't win 'em all, I reckon. The drinks were superb. Afterward, we settled ourselves in the Irish Pub, Hoof & Claw, for a couple of 1970s trivia contests, one for music and one for general history. Our foursome won both (these people are really old). Then we wandered about the ship, listening to tunes, dancing (well, some of us did; not me), and finally returned to our quarters for a hard crash and burn.
View of Fort Lauderdale from the lounge of the Liberty of the Seas, prior to departure

Tuesday, February 11, 2025
On a not-at-all-cruise-related topic, today is release day for my newest novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond, from Crossroad Press, in paperback and ebook, with the audiobook to come soon. Preorders have been healthy, and the response from those who've already delved into it is enthusiastic. To be sure, I hope this thing flies like Rodan, the Flying Monster. If you've been good enough to pick up the book, might I please prevail upon you further to leave a review, particularly on Amazon.com, since it is, for better or for worse, the most strategic sales outlet.

For Terry and me, our morning began pretty early. While Ms. B. and Beth slept in, he and I went down to Chops Grille, one of the ship's many restaurants, which offers free breakfasts to suite guests. It was fairly good—scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, and lots of coffee; satisfying but not superlative, which is typical of cruise ship food. Afterward, we decided to try our luck at the casino. I've always been partial to Blackjack, so I spent 30 or 40 minutes at the table; I was in the black for a little bit, but as so often happens, I stuck around just long enough to lose a wee bit. Thankfully, it really was a wee bit. I've got lots of chips left, so I will be returning for a rematch, probably this evening.

I needed my regular daily exercise, so I did some laps around the ship until I reached my goal of 5,000 steps (and I put in a few extra). I've averaged over 9K a day on this trip, and by tonight, I will have no doubt put in quite a few more. The Liberty is not at all a small boat, so I get almost 1,000 steps per lap around the deck.
The gang decided that, since we have free room service in the suite, we should have lunch delivered. And we did. Smoked potato soup and butternut squash risotto for me. The soup was better than the risotto. We shared a couple of bottles of Italian red wine—an Amarone and a Nebbiolo—both of which were superb. Then some folks went for naps and some went for blogging. The latter might have been me.
Celebratory toast to the success of The House at Black Tooth Pond. Good wine!
Moon over the Caribbean, viewed from the lounge of
the Liberty of the Seas

As afternoon moved toward evening, we settled in at the Suites Lounge and had a few nibbles along with a couple of drinks. They make a killer gin martini here (several of them, as a matter of fact). We finally dragged ourselves over to dinner, and tonight I destroyed some delicious calamari and a seafood linguine, which was probably the best dish I've had on the ship so far. The service, as always, was exemplary. Andy and Mary Beth again provided pleasurable dinnertime companionship.

For afters, Terry and I again ventured to the casino, and this time I won at least most of my money back from this morning. There was a bourbon tasting at the nearby duty-free shop, but it was only a couple of shots of Jack Daniels green label and Jack Daniels single-malt, the latter of which was actually pretty good, though I didn't consider either a necessary purchase.

By now, we all had worked up a pretty good tired, so we retired to our quarters, where I finished up today's blog entry. All in all, an invigorating and satisfying day, particularly since the announcements I posted about The House at Black Tooth Pond seemed to be especially well received. Tomorrow, CocoCay in the Bahamas. And me, I'm bushed, so g'night.

Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Ship butts

We woke up to see the Royal Caribbean–owned CocoCay Port outside our windows rather than open sea. We had ordered a continental breakfast to be delivered to our room, so once we snarfed it down, we made our way down to the gangway and over to CocoCay. First target for me (and Terry, who accompanied me to make sure I didn't fall into the ocean and drown) was a number of Adventure Lab cache stages, which turned out to be quick and easy.

There are several beach areas on CocoCay, so we found a nice, shady spot for our base of operations. Brugger and I soon wandered out into the crystal blue water...which turned out to be pretty icy, at least at first. We heard—second hand, so I can't really verify it—that there was a shark watch for our beach, so we didn't paddle out but so deep, and not for too long. We saw no sharks, but Kim and I bounced a lot of lines from Jaws off each other. Mostly, we hung out on the beach, drank spritzes, and had a nice lunch from the nearby pavilion.

Mid-afternoon, we returned to the ship. Terry and I woke ourselves back up with a couple of mugs of Juan Valdez in the Suites Lounge, while our respective spouses took power naps.
Chill Island Beach on CocoCay
Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas (our ship, on the left) and Voyager of the Seas (on the right)
Thursday, February 13, 2025
The view from our suite balcony first thing this morning
The Nassau Cathedral.
Do you see the geocache?

As is typical when we're on a cruise, we woke up to a new view outside our balcony this morning—a whole bunch of cruise ships packed in tight at the Nassau port. Ours was one of several already docked and another one—a Disney ship—came steaming in as I watched.

That meant the Nassau cruise port was crowded as motherfuck.

After another continental breakfast in our suite, I headed into town to hunt a few caches. There were several Adventure Lab stages, a couple of virtuals, and a physical cache, which lurked at the nearby cathedral. The sanctuary was the only place I found in this teeming madhouse of a town that was relatively serene; in fact, I sat in a pew for a bit so I could write my cache log. As far as caching went, success on all counts. Terry and Beth opted to stay on board the ship today, but eventually, Ms. B. arrived on the scene. We found ourselves a taxi over to nearby Paradise Island and the Atlantis Resort, which is a sprawling, luxury development, with a grand hotel, a massive outdoor aquarium, casino, shops, restaurants, a harbor full of massive yachts (none of them are mine, at least not yet), and a virtual cache.
Non-Euclidean horror guarding the entrance of
the Atlantis Casino; this might give me second
thoughts about gambling there.

Oddly, almost all the restaurants in the surrounding area were closed, even at noon. We finally found a tropical-themed spot called Sip-Sip, which was open, where I had some of the best chicken wings I've ever tasted. The server asked if I was okay with a lot of spice, and of course I am, but these really weren't that spicy. The flavor, though... hooooey! All kinds of good.

After our lunch, we navigated to the virtual cache, which is at the western end of the Atlantis, but I've gotta say, getting to that point from the eastern end took some doing. We went through the outdoor aquarium, which is in itself a labyrinth, but a very cool one. We saw sharks, manta rays, stingrays, horseshoe crabs, and all kinds of exotic fish. Eventually, we figured out how to reach our target, and I gathered the information necessary to claim the cache.

By then, Ms. B. and I had grown weary of the oppressive crowds, so we took a taxi (filled to the brim with people!) back to the port and fought our way back aboard the Liberty. I finally managed to revive myself with a shower and worked on the blog for a bit.

My impression of Nassau from today was not that favorable, but I might sing a different tune when the place is not so jam-packed with tourists (assuming there's ever a slow time). It's fair to say that Nassau has changed radically in the 60 years since Thunderball was made (it's one of my favorite James Bond films), but I admit I had the movie theme going through my head as I wandered the town caching. I'd certainly be willing to give the place another shot, if we ever have the opportunity, though there are certainly many other destinations I'd put well out in front.

Tonight, being our last night on board, we kept things pretty mellow. Terry and I visited the casino for a last fling, and for a refreshing change, I am coming home in the black, gambling-wise. I'll take it!
The cathedral interior; it was the only peaceful place I found in Nassau the entire day
A few yachts in the harbor near Sip-Sip at Atlantis
Holy cow, a spot that's not teeming with human beings!
Stingray at the Atlantis Aquarium
Old Dude and Brugger at the Atlantis Casino (we did not gamble).
L) Ms. B. hanging with another monster at the Casino; R) Pirate Republic ale at Sip-Sip
 
Friday, February 14–Saturday, February 15, 2025
Once we disembarked from the ship, we found a fantastic breakfast in Fort Lauderdale at Joe's Diner (which comes complete with signs bearing the iconic "Eat at Joe's" slogan). Since Terry and Beth have another cruise coming up in a couple of days, they had booked themselves a small AirBnB not far from the cruise port, and we accompanied them there to hang out until it was time for us to leave for the airport. Before heading out, Brugger and I walked to a nearby park and snagged a geocache.

At last, it was time to say goodbye to our friends. At FLL, Ms. B. and I checked in and found that our flights appeared to be on schedule. The first leg took us to Charlotte, where we had time for an early supper and a drink before the connecting flight into Greensboro.

Well, there was supposed to be a flight to Greensboro.

We boarded the plane on time, sat for a little bit, and then the pilot announced that the co-pilot had not shown up, so they were canceling the flight. As you might imagine, it was a disgruntled bunch of passengers that turned around and marched back off the plane. Only thing is, American Airlines had not officially canceled the flight, so the gate crew advised us to hang out for a while until they received the official verdict from the tower.

Yep, canceled.

So, we—along with everyone else on the flight—had to visit the customer service desk to make alternate arrangements. Charlotte is less than a couple of hours' drive to Greensboro, and numerous people decided to rent cars. However, doing so meant that American Airlines would not offer any reimbursement. They told us that if we rebooked our flights for the next day, they'd give us vouchers for a hotel, Uber rides there and back, and two meals at the airport restaurants. Our luggage would be sent to Greensboro on the first flight out the next day, so it would probably precede our arrival.

Though it was mighty inconvenient, we opted for the latter, with a flight to GSO at 9:35 a.m. on Saturday. Since all our clothes were in our checked bags, we nothing to wear but the clothes on our backs, though—thank Yog!—we had carried small necessities, such as our medications, toothbrushes, electronic devices, and such with us as we always do. Anyhoo, while this mess was a major pain in the ass, I'll reluctantly give AAL credit for living up to their end of the bargain as far as finally getting us back home.

Regardless, American is pretty much on my shit list because, in the last three years, every significant flight foul-up I've experienced has happened on American. I'd written them off a while back, but we did decide to give them another shot last year, and they came through with flying colors.

Not this time, alas.
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Over several years, we've taken quite a few big trips with Terry and Beth, and there is little better than traveling to distant places with such good friends. The mood on this trip has felt a little different, though, what with that orange trash and his goons occupying the Oval Office and what could rightly be called a coup by a puppet dictator going on in real time around us. We've really loved this respite from the stress, and I'm excited about my new book having hit the streets, but the world, and especially our country, are entering a period unlike any in my lifetime, and I don't know that any of us are going to come out of this mess unscathed, some far worse than others.

Well...we're doing our best not to withdraw to preserve our sanity but to fight the good fight—whatever and however we feel is the best way. Because without a concerted effort by many, I fear we may be fucked for a long, long time to come.


Adios for now.

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

From Twin Peaks to the Great White North, Part 2

Friday, September 29, 2023: North to Alaska, Go North the Rush Is On...
We had a lovely, panoramic view of Seattle as we set sail from the port on Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas late this afternoon. During our time in Seattle, we rarely found ourselves in a location from which we could catch a view of the city's skyline, so this perspective was pleasing. We've enjoyed our time here, but Seattle didn't strike me as a place to which I absolutely must return. It's oftentimes oppressively busy, with typical urban transportation ills — so much so this afternoon that Terry and I weren't sure we could get the rental car back to SeaTac and then locate transportation to the cruise port before the blasted ship sailed. Fortunately, we found a cabbie who probably set speed records along the way. (He likely does this run daily.)

Once we were settled on board, the four of us headed to one of the ship's cafés for a little afternoon Good Morning, America. After a stiff, much-needed caffeine pick-me-up, we went to dinner at Wonderland Restaurant on Deck 5. This upscale establishment is an "experience" in dining, and I'll go so far as to say it was one of the best meals I've ever eaten. I started with a "Smoke Ring" cocktail, which is something of a souped-up Old Fashioned, heavily smoked. It was delicious, though not particularly strong — probably a good thing since the cruise ship is basically a big floating bar. A round of various, tiny appetizers based on five natural elements — Earth, Sea, Fire, Ice, and Sun — featuring lobster, shrimp, mushrooms, eggs, and other savory treats followed. For the main course, I chose braised beef and mashed potatoes, which came with an array of puréed vegetables that perfectly complemened the cooked critter. It was the tenderest, most flavorful beef ever. Brugger went with a chicken dish, also excellent. Topped off with delicious desserts, this was indeed a wonderful (if very expensive) and memorable meal.

Afterward, we plopped down in the ship's theater to watch the ship's cruise director make funny, followed by a comedian named Landry, who generally was funny. That was about all the energy we had in us, so we called it an early night.

Good night, Seattle — we love you! (Kinda.)

Saturday, September 30, 2023: High on the High Seas and There Be Whales Here!
The view straight down through the
glass flooring on deck 15

Brugger and I rose early, mainly because there was a time change during the night — we crossed from Pacific Daylight Time to Alaska Daylight Time, so we had to convince our still slightly discombobulated bodies to back up yet a hair further after having finally adjusted to Pacific Time. After a very light breakfast courtesy of room service, Ms. B. and I set about wandering the ship, seeing the sights and seeking certain necessary items from one of the onboard shops. According to my health app, we put in two-plus miles, which I reckon we needed since our feeding frenzies have been frequent and impressive.

From our stateroom balcony, I noticed a voluminous spray not far from the ship and, a moment later, a big, dark hump that broke the surface and then submerged. How cool is that? A whale! So far on this trip, we've seen Kyle MacLachlan, a rattlesnake, and a whale. Don't see any of these much back home. Not ever, really, when you think about it. So chalk up another new and different experience.

We joined our compadres for lunch at one of the ship's restaurants; it was good, not great (I think it was grocery store–bought BBQ). For afters, Brugger and I headed to the uppermost decks to hitch a ride on the Northstar — a globe that holds about a dozen folks, attached to an arm that rises to a height of 300-some feet. For fifteen minutes, from way up high, we had a wide view of the open seas as well as the mountains of Moresby Island. The wind was strong — right at the limit of the Northstar's tolerances, according to our host — so it was bumpy up there, but we didn't fall over or anything. That's always a plus.

Later, our gang gathered for drinks at a couple of the shipboard establishments, and Terry and I enjoyed several intriguing games of pool — intriguing because the less-than-level-and-steady surface of the pool table presented us with ongoing and amusing challenges. I won the best of three, but I kinda of credit this to the table performing weird acrobatics beneath our balls.

Dinner and a brief, ill-fated visit to the casino rounded out the evening. Tomorrow: Juneau.
View of the Ovation from the Northstar as it rises to its full height
Sunday, October 1, 2023: Juneau What? We're in Alaska!

I woke up this morning, looked out our stateroom window, and, through a veil of mist and rain, saw Alaska drifting by. When I stepped out on the balcony with bare feet, I hollered a bit, because it was... well, Alaska. Initially, there wasn't much to see because the atmosphere was so thick, but Brugger and I did lay eyes on another whale not far from the ship. As we drew nearer to Juneau, the fog began to lift and the mountains along the shoreline — only a few hundred feet away — grew taller and greener. Soon, we saw numerous waterfalls that plummeted from the tops of the high ridges all the way down to sea level. Eventually, we saw the buildings of Juneau creeping up ahead on starboard. Our original arrival time was supposed to be 1:00 p.m., but we were apparently quite early, having made considerable headway overnight.

There was still some time before disembarking, so Brugger and I spent a brief but relaxing spell in the hot tub at the ship's solarium. We had a quick pizza lunch with the Nelsons, I slapped my geocaching hat on my head, and then... Alaska, here we come! There were several caches around the port, and I managed to make quick work of them. Well, work of them, anyway. The womenz went shopping, needless to say. Terry and I found drink and light vittles at a quirky tavern called the Red Dog Saloon, Eventually, Brugger and Beth joined us, and we hung out for a while before going our separate ways — the womenz back shopping, Terry back to the ship, and I out for geocaching. Six and a half miles I hoofed it, which was enough for me to explore a fair part of this very small city. I saw the entire port district, the governor's mansion, several fun little backroads, and some panoramic views from on high. I logged six traditional caches and fourteen Adventure Lab stages, which I'd call a dingy-dang good total for the day.

Ms. B. and I had intended to have dinner at a particular seafood restaurant in town, but it was closed for the season. We checked out a couple of other places — also closed — and when we finally found an open one, they were so full up (no doubt because every other place was closed) that we would have had almost an hour's wait. So we said fuck that, trucked back to the ship, and found dinner at Izumi Sushi, which I'd call one helluva good dinner. We closed out the night with a final drink at the Schooner Bar, which would become one of our regular shipboard hangouts.

Tomorrow: Skagway.
Into Juneau
Nary a crabby person to be seen at Red Dog Saloon. Well, maybe one.
Monday, October 2, 2023: Moose and Squirrel!

The Ovation dropped anchor in the port of Skagway, Alaska, very early this morning, and, after slaughtering a decent breakfast, our gang made its way into town to procure a vehicle for our do-it-yourself tour to Emerald Lake in Canada's Yukon Territory. Vehicle acquired, Ms. B. got behind the wheel and drove us through blinding rain and fog high into the mountains, where — happily — the sun came through, burned off most of the errant vapor, and presented us with some of the most spectacular scenery any of us have ever seen.

We spotted bear! We spotted moose! We spotted squirrel! We spotted mountain goat! We spotted geocaches! At Emerald Lake, while seeking a cache, I happened upon a ruffled grouse, who gave me such a stink-eye that I damn near ran away. Then he flew off, thoroughly berating Ms. B. as he passed. What a jerk!

Once back at the ship, our gang had dinner in the restaurant, drank at one of the bars, danced... somewhere... and then Terry and I hit the casino. I must say, he had far better luck than I did, and I suspect my gambling on this trip is over and done with. All in all, though, I'd call this one incredible, spectacular day. Looky at the pictures!
Tuesday, October 3, 2023: Endicott Arm
About dawn, the Ovation entered the Endicott Arm, a channel of the Inside Passage south of Juneau, so that we might view the Dawes Glacier. Brugger and I got up for an early breakfast. Then we spent a frigid morning on (and often off) our balcony photographing the spectacular mountains and myriad waterfalls as we sailed slowly past. Once relatively close to the glacier, the ship stopped for a while, but thick mist prevented clear views. The glacier was definitely cool to see, but it was the mountains and waterfalls along the channel that we found most inspiring.
Iceberg! Right ahead!
At noon, our gang met at our regular shipboard dining room for lunch, which was leisurely... perhaps a tad more leisurely than we usually prefer. The ship is jam-packed, bordering on oppressive for those of us who suffer from crowd anxiety (which gets to me more and more in my old age). The food in the main dining room is pretty good; better, I think, than the fare on Rhapsody of the Seas on our Mediterranean cruise a few years ago. I have to give a lot of credit to the Ovation's servers and crew in general, most of whom bend over backward to make sure you're satisfied. I'm pretty easy to please, so none of them have chucked any heavy or sharp objects at me. I'm not so sure about the others in our party...

For the better part of the afternoon, we hung out in the solarium, both in the hot tub and in the multi-level pool. In the hot tub, a young woman noticed my geocaching hat and mentioned to me that she geocached as well. We ended up having a long conversation, while Terry ended up yakking with a Navy vet, with whom he apparently shared some history. That left Kimberly and Beth stuck between their husbands carrying on at length with other folks. At least they had each other.

Before dinner, we met again at the Schooner Bar, and then... Italian night at the restaurant. The second-best beef carpaccio I've ever had. A fair filet of sole, and a delicious Coffee Pot del Crema for dessert. Afterward... somehow... we ended up back at the Schooner Bar and listened to their entertaining piano man. Throughout the evening, the seas had grown increasingly rough, and the ship rocked and swayed madly during our entire outing. We drank a bit, but the ship's movement made us feel positively blasted. After our gang broke up for the night, Brugger and I went down to the pool tables for a bit of fun and... oh, my lord, trying to play pool on a rocking ship was silly enough that we figured it for an impromptu slapstick show.

Apparently, while we were doing these things, the ship's crew hung large quantities of Feel Better Bags on all the stairway railings for those inclined to get seasick. Thankfully, for us, all that rocking and rolling made for nothing more than a good night's sleep.
That's the glacier in the center; the mist was too dense to make out much detail.
Wednesday, October 4, 2023: It's Pitch White Outside
Today was a full day at sea, and Brugger and I felt it was high time we took a break from the typical cruise routine of starting drinking at an early hour and keeping it going. There was a time change last night when the Ovation crossed back to Pacific Daylight Time from Alaska Daylight Time, so we basically lost the hour we had gained on our northward voyage. It's still three hours earlier than back home and, most of the time, we don't even know what day it is, much less the time on the clock. Maybe even more so today because, outside, there's an impenetrable veil of fog that's hung there since we crawled out of bed.

I wanted to make some forward progress on the short story I'm composing, so, for a while, I sat out on the balcony and composed away. At noon, we met Terry & Beth at the restaurant for lunch. A fair burger, it was. Then Brugger and I decided to find a place on the ship where she could make art and I could write, just for the change of scenery. We secured a couple of acceptable seats outside Vintages Wine Bar on Deck 5 and proceeded to write, paint, draw, drink coffee, and leer at the passersby. When we returned to our stateroom, it was still pitch white outside.

It's feeling kinda like The Lost Continent out there.

Or maybe... Gojira! No sooner had I written the preceding than a brilliant burst of white light appeared on the ocean's surface some distance to starboard. I knew right away this was Godzilla rising. Kimberly said it was a reflection of the sun, now burning its way through the fog. But I know better.

Late in the afternoon, Terry, Beth, Ms. B., and I met for the shooting of some pool (or in my case, the massacre of some pool) and then an excellent dinner at the restaurant; shrimp cocktail and lobster tails for this old landlubber. For the remainder of the evening, we settled ourselves in Vintages with a round of decent red vino.

We have one more full day on the cruise. Tomorrow, it's Victoria, British Columbia. Don't know much about Victoria, but the geocaching map tells me it will be worth my while. I dunno about anyone else's while.

I'm telling you: it was Godzilla out there. Because I know better.
Gojira!
Thursday, October 5, 2023: Named After Our Lady

Today, it was Victoria — our penultimate destination on the cruise. Tomorrow, we'll dock and disembark in Vancouver.

I set out early this morning, shortly after the Ovation docked, bound for several caches around the port area. For a couple of them, I ended up walking all the way to the lighthouse at the end of the breakwater, which was good for a good mile and a half of hoofing right there. After that, Brugger came out to meet me, and we headed toward town, stopping at shops and caches along the way. For lunch, we happened upon the Cactus Café, which turned out to be an agreeable, somewhat upscale establishment. Terry and Beth soon joined us there — what late bloomers! The food was good, and the Aperol spritzes were tasty and refreshing.

After that, we wandered a bit more and eventually ended up at Fisherman's Wharf. It's loaded with food kiosks and beer joints, which would have been more appealing if we hadn't already had lunch. It was kind of fun to visit, and I did grab a cache there. At last, we decided to head back to the ship. At the end of it, I'd put in right about eight miles on my feetzes. And now my feetzes are kinda sore!

For the evening, our priority was packing up for an early departure in the morning.

Overall, this has been an enjoyable cruise; some hiccups with elevators out of service, EXPENSIVE internet service that tended to be sporadic at best, seemingly endless chaos getting settled in the dining room, and a few other glitches... mostly only minor annoyances. The spectacular stuff we've seen and done has been REALLY spectacular, so it more than balances out. I've now seen a part of the United States as well as a country — Canada — I'd never previously visited, so I'm calling this an experience I deeply value.

And all with the best of friends. It doesn't get much better.
In the Houses of Parliament, everybody's talking about the President
Canadian Dinosaurs!
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