mk-ultra

Another strategy is mixing clothes with your travel partner.  Put some of their clothes in your luggage, put some of your clothes in their luggage. 
Next time it might be your travel partner that has a lost bag. 
By mixing stuff between both of you at least you both have something. 

Last year was our first year back cruising after the Pandemic.  Cruising is the only vacation I care to do.  It had been post poned 2 times because of the pandemic.   We are the type that that books and pays a year in advance.  We pack in advance and are a little OCD about making sure we have everything we need to have.  We get to our airlines 2 hours early even though we are in a tiny airport in ICT.  The night before we were supposed to leave, we get a call from RC saying the hurricane is messing things up and we were going to lose a day.  SAD but okay.  Then an hour later another call from RC they booked us FIRST CLASS on the new airline for the following day.  COOL.
 
I wore a sundress with NOTHING under it and crocks.  I wanted that first picture to be great.  We had so much fun flying first class and drinking Mimosas at 5 in the morning.  We fly to Georgia and are so frikin excited and happy.  Have another mimosa and talk to some other passengers that were also cruising for the first time since pandemic.  We were sad about losing a day but after 3 years we didn't care at all~
 
Get to Florida and both of hubby's bags come right away.  Then my smaller bag comes. and we wait and wait and wait.  And wait and wait and wait.  I get near the flap where the luggage comes out and hear voices and yell into there I'm missing my bag.  Guy yells back says check baggage claim as that was all he had.  I go to baggage claim and start the process.  I am in there for an hour while they call Georgia.  bla bla bla  at some point the guy in baggage claim says I should run to walmart to get stuff.  I didn't know what was in each bag other than my shoes were in the bigger bag.  Meanwhile, RC representatives to drive us to the pier are saying we gotta go....
 
We make the decision to go on.  Have the numbers for luggage info and baggage claim has our ship number and that is about I can do at that point.
 
We get to our state room.  Both hubby's bags are there.  Now my one and only bag isn't there.  I am melting down now.  It is really ugly.  I went to customer service and GOD bless that lady I pray for her daily!  She got me 2 white extra large shirts and a toiletries bag to get me started.  The entire cruise she called daily to see if my suitcase came on a plain.  (ALWAYS have your DECK TAGS on your luggage)  
 
By night time my one suitcase showed up.  I realized I had no shoes and no tooth powder (dentures -gotta get them to stay in put) I had 1 formal dress and a swimsuit and socks and undies  3 pair of shorts and shirts so I could get buy.  Most nights in the evening I just walked around in socks.  
 
1st nigh tof dinner I had my newly given WHITE tee shirt and hubby's black swim shorts and black crocks to eat dinner in the MDR.  I felt so under dressed.  Hubby to break the ice told everyone he had been trying to get me out of my panties for years  🙂 
When we were in Plya I found come cool tennis shoes that I wear a lot now so I could have something other than crocks.  
 
We had a fantabulious cruize.  But I especially want people to know that RC guest services will go over and above what they can when they can.  she called me every day with a new status.  
 
NOW-I never got my 2nd suitcase until a month after we were home and the suitcase was beat the hell up .  I got all my clothes back and all my new makeup I had just bougnt for that cruise.  bUT Delta also bought us new luggage.   
 
Lesson learned.  Wear tennis shoes on plain and split between suitcases .  One swimsuit in each suitcase.  thanks like that.
 
 
 
If it hadn't been for my lady in RC GS I might have pouted the whole cruise.

Quick tip for arriving in Canada:
You can use the "ArriveCAN" app on your phone to fill out all of your details and customs declaration within 72 hours of arrival.  It was mandatory during the height of COVID but is optional now.  If you use ArriveCAN, you don't join the frowny-faced hoard in line -- you go to a kiosk and scan your passport, kinda like a Global Entry kiosk in the US.  This will be my first time using it.  Will report back.
Oh, and as soon as you submit it a 72 hour expiry timer starts.  I'd recommend not submitting it until you're within 24-48 hours of arrival -- just in case your flight is delayed.  I didn't know that.  I still have about a 2.5 hour cushion if my flight gets delayed.

Towel buddies all lined up for self-assist departure tomorrow morning.  Dudes, gonna need a bigger bag to get you through customs.

Day 7 - Victoria BC
Brief update since I’m still doing it, but ship docked at 1700 and hit the gangway at 1730.
Immediately got on the path that follows the harbor counter-clockwise. Er, Canada. ANTI-clockwise.  About 8 or 9 minutes into walkies hit Fisherman’s Wharf, which was bustling. OK… must check out.
Oh, seafood shack with local beer flights?  I’m in. 


Unfortunately, there was a very obnoxious 2lb Dungeness crab 🦀 in a tank talking smack. FOB kinda attitude.
So we had it out.  Armed with the mallet of goodness, taught the miscreant a lesson.

And I swear, the deadly goose from Vancouver found me again. Just creepily staring me down

If you want to brutalize a Dungee, don’t dally.  The Fish Store (aka the place with crab) starts rolling up the carpet around 1830. Glad I did it first thing off the ship.

This is rough.  Anyone who has read my drivel has probably noticed I don't feel a need to be exactly linear on timelines.  So, here goes:
Day 5 - Juneau
Did the "Last Frontier Food Tour"
Because I'm a lazy douchebag, here's the rain-soaked itinerary I've cobbled together:
Started at Taku Smokeries, and nibbled on what are called smoked salmon wings.  Near as I can tell, it's belly salmon meat.  Small, tasty bites.  Be prepared to smell like smoked salmon from that point on.
Next up, Tracy's King Crab Shack.  This is the one of the two places you want to go to be fed if you do Juneau on your own.  Had king crab bisque, a world-class mini crab cake and a salted roll.
I'll abbreviate and mostly ignore the rest.  The stop that competed with Tracy's was Deckhand Dave's for rockfish tacos.  It's a food truck atmosphere and the beer and rockfish tacos there pleased everyone.
As always, I mostly eat food... rather than photograph it.
Also visited Harbor Spice & Tea, Crystal Saloon for a blueberry mojito, and got a half pound of fudge.
2.5 hours of assorted food and drink, but doesn't equal a meal.  Worth doing, but if you only have time to do one thing: make it Tracy's King Crab Shack.  🙂
 

The “surprise” in-cabin lunch was both fantastic and overwhelming.  3 level cart shows up. OK. They put 3 covered dishes on the cabin dining table. Smells awesome!  Cool 👍
Then they unload the second level of the cart. My eyebrow goes up. More?
Then they unload the 3rd level.  Dear god.  Table is totally covered with food. Then the plates and silverware for 4 people (I’m solo).  I’m beginning to think I’m being pranked.
So, view of lunch facing our wake:
 

 
No description of the food as it was unloaded onto the table, but I’m decent at IDing grub, so here goes:
Crispy Filipino lechon (pork belly) with a dipping sauce I’m pretty sure was soy sauce, vinegar, green onion and a little cane sugar.
Adobo chicken drumsticks.
Adobo-ish pork (only meh thing).
On the Indian side:
Chicken tikka masala
Vegetable basmati
Chana masala
Raita and a bunch of papadums.

Hello?  Security?  May have a towel issue.

Okay, where the hell did I leave off?  I've been deliberately doing all the things -- especially ignoring my work laptop and phone.  Conscious decision to be a bit more disconnected on this cruise, because, well, 3 years of not enough vacation time.  😛
So, armed with a Corona in the cabin, picking back up from yesterday:
Day 4 - Sitka
1000 arrival in Sitka.  1145 Tongass Forest Nature Hike.
The hike is billed as "moderate" with +-300' elevation changes, mostly over trail stairs.  Some other non-stepped inclines/declines.  The hike begins from the "Mosquito Cove" trailhead, about a 5 minute van ride north from the port.  Promising name.  Almost foreshadowing (but not really).
I'll start with the track I recorded using the GaiaGPS app.  It's the one I use for serious bizzness hiking or off-roading.  It may help picture what we hiked:

The trailhead is at the south end of that almost totally north/south bit starting where the road crosses it SW to NE.  The Mosquito Cove trail is actually a "loop" trail, but we only did about 1/2 of it... heading north along the water for maybe .75 mile with frequent stops to have some history / nature explained to us.  One naturalist specializing it botany in front, one college student doing a work/study program bringing up the tail end to make sure someone didn't get eaten by a bear or something.
Naturalist guide was very good (and kinda saucily funny).  Student had a bit of a moose-in-the-headlights thing, but warmed up when everyone engaged her.  Learned a lot about the flora and fauna, and the, "volcanic top soil that has a pH which means we don't have mosquitos here."  It took everything I had in me to not raise the hand (I was using to slap a mosquito off of my neck) and ask how the loop trail got its name.
After the N/S out-and-back we hoofed it about 1/2 mile back west down the road and then joined another trail (the squiggly bit at the bottom of the track).  This one did a half loop through a slightly different ecosystem, climbing up to a marshy/bog area very different from anything else we'd seen.  Lots of varying spruce, hemlock (the tree kind, not the poison your emperor or philosopher kind) and some very pretty yellow flowers (skunk something -- I'll dig the name up).  The older ones live up to the name... not in a gross way, but a vaguely "I think I smell a skunk" way.  Came across two of my favorite AK plants: A really big Devil’s Club and some Cow Parsnip  Go ahead and touch ‘em.  Free entertainment for the rest of us  😈
I think GaiaGPS was very accurate on GPS track, distance and time for this hike.  Don't let the 113' foot ascent number throw you off.  Every foot you go up, you come down (hopefully).  Make sure you have shoes that don't jam your toes going downhill.  That gets old, fast.  Glad I brought all my usual hiking duds and not just the around town stuff.
Weather was good to excellent.  Rain didn't really start until we'd pulled away from the dock.  🙂
Photo dump:








Din-din was at Wonderland.  Slightly hit-and-miss.  Mostly hit.
Miss: tomato water served in a test tube with some oddball sodium alginate molecular gastronomy "sphere" in it.  That stuff was done to death by Grant Achatz a decade ago and needs to be sent to wherever things like that go to die.
Miss: vegetable garden thing served on the weirdest deformed bean shaped "plate" ever -- guaranteed to dump your silverware in your lap at least twice.  Water-logged veg allegedly blanched, served on some tasteless "soil" -- with (god help me) bear scat looking chunks of freeze-dried foie gras.  Absolutely nothing about it worked.  Except the one, lonely, slightly pickled beet.  The beet should just be served on it's own shining dish where it can be properly admired.  Don't F with the beet.
Hit: crispy crab cone.  Top layer is a gauc-like avocado puree, with crab below, and at the very bottom of the cone a little wasabi land mine to clear your sinuses.  I love wasabi.
Hit: crispy wrapped (and sadly only one) shrimp with a habanero foam to dip it in.  Win.  WIN.  WIN.  More shrimp, please.  Foam had some heat to it, but nothing that will send you running to put your mouth (or other end) out.
Hit: tuna tartare, served in a scooped out lime, with a citrus granita and some tobico eggs on top.  Bonus when you sneak some of the leftover habanero foam over to that plate.
Hit: entree was the branzino with a kinda fake skin on top made from finely crushed panko, some jasmine rice underneath, surrounded by a sweet/sour tamarind sauce.   Win.  I don't know what it is with RCI and branzino, but it's always been one of my faves no matter how they prepare it.
Mostly miss: dessert was that massive chocolate "world" globe they melt down with some hot caramel sauce.  It's got some peanut butter ice cream inside sitting on top of a chocolate ganache.  Meh.  That's dessert overkill -- like fire-hosing the room with sugar syrup.  Too much going on for it to really taste like anything.  I dare you to let your kid have one and chase it with a double-espresso.
Tomorrow is a sea day.  Bridge tour, custom Filipino lunch served in my cabin (go Yen -- Genies pull off some cool stuff even without explicitly asking)!  First time I've ever had room service / in-room dining on a ship.  I'm usually low-touch.  Then a bridge tour.  Then Escape Room.  Then Jamie's.  Then totally face-plant.
I'll try to backtrack and write-up Day 5 tomorrow.  Last Frontier Food Tour.
 
 
 
 

Towel buddies all lined up for self-assist departure tomorrow morning.  Dudes, gonna need a bigger bag to get you through customs.

Towel buddies all lined up for self-assist departure tomorrow morning.  Dudes, gonna need a bigger bag to get you through customs.

Did a quick 2.5 hours ashore in Victoria. Not enough time to really explore, but fine for a nice walk to the wharf and a crab fight.
Came back to a Genie gift. Carved wood salad serving set with Tligit style eagles 🦅 on the handles.  Awesome!  It's really is a personalized gift -- Yen knew I loved cooking.  Her two other cabins got different, equally well thought out gifts.  I spent some time looking for some sort of a Tligit raven to take home that piqued my fancy (no joy -- eagles everywhere).
In Tligit mythology, the raven is the one who releases mankind from a clam shell.  The raven is also a notorious trickster.  I like the raven.  Eagle is beautiful, but raven is me.  A lot of Tligit art has raven, man and clam on one side... and all the other animal spirits on the other having a, "WTF did you do, raven?" moment of stern stares.

Towel buddies all lined up for self-assist departure tomorrow morning.  Dudes, gonna need a bigger bag to get you through customs.

Did a quick 2.5 hours ashore in Victoria. Not enough time to really explore, but fine for a nice walk to the wharf and a crab fight.
Came back to a Genie gift. Carved wood salad serving set with Tligit style eagles 🦅 on the handles.  Awesome!  It's really is a personalized gift -- Yen knew I loved cooking.  Her two other cabins got different, equally well thought out gifts.  I spent some time looking for some sort of a Tligit raven to take home that piqued my fancy (no joy -- eagles everywhere).
In Tligit mythology, the raven is the one who releases mankind from a clam shell.  The raven is also a notorious trickster.  I like the raven.  Eagle is beautiful, but raven is me.  A lot of Tligit art has raven, man and clam on one side... and all the other animal spirits on the other having a, "WTF did you do, raven?" moment of stern stares.

Day 7 - Victoria BC
Brief update since I’m still doing it, but ship docked at 1700 and hit the gangway at 1730.
Immediately got on the path that follows the harbor counter-clockwise. Er, Canada. ANTI-clockwise.  About 8 or 9 minutes into walkies hit Fisherman’s Wharf, which was bustling. OK… must check out.
Oh, seafood shack with local beer flights?  I’m in. 


Unfortunately, there was a very obnoxious 2lb Dungeness crab 🦀 in a tank talking smack. FOB kinda attitude.
So we had it out.  Armed with the mallet of goodness, taught the miscreant a lesson.

And I swear, the deadly goose from Vancouver found me again. Just creepily staring me down

If you want to brutalize a Dungee, don’t dally.  The Fish Store (aka the place with crab) starts rolling up the carpet around 1830. Glad I did it first thing off the ship.

Towel buddies all lined up for self-assist departure tomorrow morning.  Dudes, gonna need a bigger bag to get you through customs.

Did a quick 2.5 hours ashore in Victoria. Not enough time to really explore, but fine for a nice walk to the wharf and a crab fight.
Came back to a Genie gift. Carved wood salad serving set with Tligit style eagles 🦅 on the handles.  Awesome!  It's really is a personalized gift -- Yen knew I loved cooking.  Her two other cabins got different, equally well thought out gifts.  I spent some time looking for some sort of a Tligit raven to take home that piqued my fancy (no joy -- eagles everywhere).
In Tligit mythology, the raven is the one who releases mankind from a clam shell.  The raven is also a notorious trickster.  I like the raven.  Eagle is beautiful, but raven is me.  A lot of Tligit art has raven, man and clam on one side... and all the other animal spirits on the other having a, "WTF did you do, raven?" moment of stern stares.

Day 7 - Victoria BC
Brief update since I’m still doing it, but ship docked at 1700 and hit the gangway at 1730.
Immediately got on the path that follows the harbor counter-clockwise. Er, Canada. ANTI-clockwise.  About 8 or 9 minutes into walkies hit Fisherman’s Wharf, which was bustling. OK… must check out.
Oh, seafood shack with local beer flights?  I’m in. 


Unfortunately, there was a very obnoxious 2lb Dungeness crab 🦀 in a tank talking smack. FOB kinda attitude.
So we had it out.  Armed with the mallet of goodness, taught the miscreant a lesson.

And I swear, the deadly goose from Vancouver found me again. Just creepily staring me down

If you want to brutalize a Dungee, don’t dally.  The Fish Store (aka the place with crab) starts rolling up the carpet around 1830. Glad I did it first thing off the ship.

Did a quick 2.5 hours ashore in Victoria. Not enough time to really explore, but fine for a nice walk to the wharf and a crab fight.
Came back to a Genie gift. Carved wood salad serving set with Tligit style eagles 🦅 on the handles.  Awesome!  It's really is a personalized gift -- Yen knew I loved cooking.  Her two other cabins got different, equally well thought out gifts.  I spent some time looking for some sort of a Tligit raven to take home that piqued my fancy (no joy -- eagles everywhere).
In Tligit mythology, the raven is the one who releases mankind from a clam shell.  The raven is also a notorious trickster.  I like the raven.  Eagle is beautiful, but raven is me.  A lot of Tligit art has raven, man and clam on one side... and all the other animal spirits on the other having a, "WTF did you do, raven?" moment of stern stares.

Towel buddies all lined up for self-assist departure tomorrow morning.  Dudes, gonna need a bigger bag to get you through customs.

Towel buddies all lined up for self-assist departure tomorrow morning.  Dudes, gonna need a bigger bag to get you through customs.

Did a quick 2.5 hours ashore in Victoria. Not enough time to really explore, but fine for a nice walk to the wharf and a crab fight.
Came back to a Genie gift. Carved wood salad serving set with Tligit style eagles 🦅 on the handles.  Awesome!  It's really is a personalized gift -- Yen knew I loved cooking.  Her two other cabins got different, equally well thought out gifts.  I spent some time looking for some sort of a Tligit raven to take home that piqued my fancy (no joy -- eagles everywhere).
In Tligit mythology, the raven is the one who releases mankind from a clam shell.  The raven is also a notorious trickster.  I like the raven.  Eagle is beautiful, but raven is me.  A lot of Tligit art has raven, man and clam on one side... and all the other animal spirits on the other having a, "WTF did you do, raven?" moment of stern stares.

Day 7 - Victoria BC
Brief update since I’m still doing it, but ship docked at 1700 and hit the gangway at 1730.
Immediately got on the path that follows the harbor counter-clockwise. Er, Canada. ANTI-clockwise.  About 8 or 9 minutes into walkies hit Fisherman’s Wharf, which was bustling. OK… must check out.
Oh, seafood shack with local beer flights?  I’m in. 


Unfortunately, there was a very obnoxious 2lb Dungeness crab 🦀 in a tank talking smack. FOB kinda attitude.
So we had it out.  Armed with the mallet of goodness, taught the miscreant a lesson.

And I swear, the deadly goose from Vancouver found me again. Just creepily staring me down

If you want to brutalize a Dungee, don’t dally.  The Fish Store (aka the place with crab) starts rolling up the carpet around 1830. Glad I did it first thing off the ship.

Didn’t order. Just a Genie surprise since I mentioned food I’m fond of. 
 

The “surprise” in-cabin lunch was both fantastic and overwhelming.  3 level cart shows up. OK. They put 3 covered dishes on the cabin dining table. Smells awesome!  Cool 👍
Then they unload the second level of the cart. My eyebrow goes up. More?
Then they unload the 3rd level.  Dear god.  Table is totally covered with food. Then the plates and silverware for 4 people (I’m solo).  I’m beginning to think I’m being pranked.
So, view of lunch facing our wake:
 

 
No description of the food as it was unloaded onto the table, but I’m decent at IDing grub, so here goes:
Crispy Filipino lechon (pork belly) with a dipping sauce I’m pretty sure was soy sauce, vinegar, green onion and a little cane sugar.
Adobo chicken drumsticks.
Adobo-ish pork (only meh thing).
On the Indian side:
Chicken tikka masala
Vegetable basmati
Chana masala
Raita and a bunch of papadums.