Category Archives: cruise

It’s Been a Busy Month…

Right, I have a journal here. I should actually use it 🙂

Just to update a few things before they totally slip into the past: Following the craziness that was Wuffmeet, takaza and I slipped into a comfortable winter rhythm. Our cooking has improved, or at least gotten more interesting, with the addition of a Sous Vide Supreme to our kitchen. We are still experimenting and testing recipes, but we’ve been really impressed with how it cooks steaks and other meats. The fish it makes is to die for, and butter-poached chicken is simply divine. The biggest trick is that seasonings behave differently with low-temperature cooking, so we are still learning what works, what doesn’t, and what we still need to try. I’m having a ball with is, and I’m hoping to bring it to Furry Connection North to provide some interesting snacks for our parties!

Our social life has gotten a bit quieter with the departure of close friends roho and genet to the wilds of the east coast as they move to the heart of Boston. While we were very sad to see them go, I’m really glad to see Roho get his life back from his (former) evil employer. We provided some small help in moving some of their furniture out of their house (I still feel bad about what we did to the wall in their basement stairwell, but I’m told it was a relatively easy fix). Once the movers came and loaded up their stuff, Genet crashed at our place for a few days with Briana, their pretty-but-airheaded Samoyed. She and Buddy got along great (as always), and it was nice to have the extra company. Once all of the contractors were done making their place super-pretty so it could go on the market, she packed up the dog and their two cats and made the long drive to Boston. Here’s hoping they can clear all the boxes out of their new place before summer! 😉

We have been having a lot of fun planning our upcoming cruise to Alaska, coming up around Memorial Day. Somehow our group has reached 18 people from all over – even someone from Sweden! We purchased a good bit of the various parts of the trip over the last month, including flights (Frontier Airlines, MKE-DEN-ANC/SEA-MKE), reservations at a fabulous little lesbian-owned B&B in Anchorage, trains from Anchorage to Seward (where our ship departs) and Vancouver to Seattle, and various shore excursions. Dan is thinking about putting together a group chat on Saturday, March 5, for everyone in our group so we can talk about coordinating schedules and answer any questions that folks might have. We’ll be sending around emails for that. This is going to be the longest vacation we’ve had, and I’m really looking forward to it! We’re already brainstorming ideas for group trips for next year as well, including an extended weekend in New Orleans, and a ski weekend at Sugarloaf in Maine. More on that after the cruise!

I should mention that on Groundhog Day we got buried with a blizzard. Twenty inches of snow fell in a very short time, and then the 40-50 mph winds kicked in. We did the smart thing and made sure we had everything we needed and when it started coming down we sat tight at the house. Work for both of us was closed (the first time in a long time!) and we spent the snow day relaxing and Genet made cookies! Our HOA dues have never been more appreciated as we watched the snow removal company try to cope with the huge drifts, though we did get into the act a little bit by excavating Genet’s car from the snow.

Somewhere in there was our first Midwest FurFest staff meeting of the year. It’s always rough to get started again after the last convention, but there’s contracts to sign and plans to get into place. The good news is that Hyatt Regency O’Hare was extremely happy with the convention last year, and now that we all know each other, the coming year will be much easier to plan. We have changed up our meeting schedule a bit, with more online meetings early in the year; this makes sense since most of the staff doesn’t really need to spring into action until the summer.

Oh, for those wondering: our conventions schedule this year is to attend Furry Connection North and Midwest FurFest and…that’s it. Since the cruise is so long and I only have ten days of vacation, Anthrocon just isn’t in the cards for us this year. I wish everyone involved with AC well, though, especially rooth and chanur2000, who will be taking over my and Dan’s staff positions there, respectively. Good luck, guys!

Finally, Dan and I will be hopping on board the Amtrak Wolverine this evening and taking the train over to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to hang out with the fine folks there for the weekend, and to help determine the beers that will be served at FCN’s sponsor lounge. It should be tough, thirsty work! Dan has planned a fun dinner for Saturday night as well. The fun doesn’t end there, as it appears that we will be visited by fordshepherd and bajahyena next weekend, when we will…well, those plans are a secret!

Off to work now – I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Alaskan Cruise Update – Deadline Soon!

Hello everyone!

This is a reminder that we are coming up on an important deadline for next year’s Alaskan cruise. After the end of October, our travel agent will not be able to guarantee that he will be able to hold the group reservation (which means if you book after that you may not get some of the group benefits). Additionally, the prices that we have previously quoted will likely be going up. As an example, I’m glad that we locked in out suite reservation when we did, since last week it went up $60.00 per person; it’s a safe bet that other rates will be increasing as well.

We have heard from the following folks that they have booked the cruise (and I apologize if I leave anyone off the list – my memory can be faulty on Monday mornings!) – Duncan, Takaza, Roho, Genet, Plonq, Atara, RB, Rusty, Rasslor, Brophey, Karwood, Sirius, Austin, Foxfeather, and Mbala. People who have expressed interest, but I’m not sure if they have booked yet: Linnaeus and Thomas. There’s plenty of room for anyone who would like to join us, too!

The general details: This is a seven-day cruise from Seward, Alaska to Vancouver, British Columbia on the Celebrity Millennium. The cruise departs Seward on Friday, May 27, 2011 and arrive Vancouver on Friday, June 3, 2011. This page has the basic information on the cruise: http://goo.gl/VFf1

Click here for the specifics, and how to book!

Catching Up, Part 2

So, what else has been going on lately? Since I’m lazy, I’ll use bullet points.

  • On Friday we helped rustitobuck celebrate his birthday at a dinner that linnaeus put together. We ate at Claimjumper and the food wasn’t too bad. I’m pleased to say that it is possible to get moderate (i.e. sane) sized portions at Claimjumper if you order carefully.
  • We spent the weekend relaxing a bit and finally cleaning up the clutter from the picnic the prior weekend. On Sunday night we had dinner with roho and genet at a fabulous little Indian restaurant that just opened up within a few miles of us. I’m so glad to have expanded opportunities for food around here (and takaza loves their chicken tikka masla, so it’s a win for everyone!).
  • I’ve started using the MyPlate food and fitness diary over at Livestrong (which came recommended by the ever-useful Cool Tools blog). It’s an awesome free utility that lets you get all of your data in one place and even download it to a local spreadsheet. It’s interesting how just the act of tracking what you eat makes you more aware of your diet. I’m not “dieting” per se, just trying to eat better. This is an excellent tool for this.
  • We’ve got travel coming up! In September we’re going to be visiting Montreal. I’m having a lot of fun finding out about the area and making notes of possible places to visit, though as I’ve found on past trips while it’s nice to know some possibilities ahead of time, it’s even more fun to surrender to serendipity when it comes along. If we go to some of these places, great! If not, that’s OK too. We’ve got a group of 12 people coming from all over the country, and coordinating everyone is a bit of trick. We’re still working on who will cook what meals that we eat at the rental house, and putting the finishing touches on some reservations, but otherwise we’re just about good to go.
  • Speaking of vacation planning, the big trip for us right now is the Alaskan cruise that we’re planning for next May. I am pleasantly surprised to see that we definitely have thirteen people signed up, and at least four more who have expressed interest. The beauty of a trip like this is that it’s easily expandable. So hey, if you ever wanted to cruise from Anchorage, Alaska to Vancouver, British Columbus, with visits to Seward, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Seattle, we’d love to have you along for this trip! You can find more information over here.
  • In just a few minutes I’m off to meet with the representative of our home builder. It’s almost been a year since we moved in and our one-year home warranty is about to expire, so they’re going to come in for one last pass to take care of any maintenance issues, nail pops, etc. Dan and I went over the walls carefully last night (and poor Dan slipped on the stairs doing so – he’s OK, just a bit sore) and our walls are currently covered with an array of post-it notes marking any defects. Next up will be scheduling their guy to come in and repair all of them.

That’s all for now!

Alaskan Cruise 2011 Is a GO!

So, after much dithering back and forth over which cruise line, itinerary, and embarkation/debarkation ports, we have narrowed it down and made our decision! We will be sailing on the Celebrity Millennium on an eight-day, seven night cruise. We will fly into Anchorage, Alaska on Thursday, May 26, 2011. The next day we will take a train to Seward, Alaska, where we will board the Millennium. The ship will visit Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan, and the Inside Passage before arriving in Vancouver, British Columbia on Friday, June 3. We will follow the cruise with a brief weekend in Seattle, Washington, before flying home on Sunday, June 5.

Interested? Here are the details and cost estimates.

Big Plans for 2011!

It doesn’t seem so long ago…

November 18, 2001. We were at the Sheraton Arlington Park, just wrapping up the second Midwest FurFest. We gathered with our family and friends in a ballroom there, and before one and all, takaza and I pledged our love for one another in a celebration of our commited relationship. It was a magical night, and one that we will never forget.

The tenth anniversary of that event is coming up, and we have decided that we want to celebrate in style. And just like before, we would love to do it with those who are dear to us. Dan and I would like to invite all of our friends to join us on a fabulous cruise to Alaska! Things are very much in the formative stages, but the one thing that we’ve learned is that booking a year out is a Very Good Idea. Even better, booking early allows you to make down payments on your ticket, which suddenly makes this a viable option.

Here’s what we’re looking at: Cruising from either Seattle or Vancouver on an 6- or 7-night cruise through the Inside Passage of Alaska in July of 2011. Depending on what accommodations you select, the cruise will be between $1,000 – $2,250 per person (the former for in interior stateroom, the latter for a suite with a balcony). There will also be the cost of plane fare to/from the embarkation city, whichever it will be. And while this may sound like a lot of money, if you pay it in installments over 12 months, that may make the cost much more attainable.

Once we get an idea of how many people we might be talking about and what the group might be looking for in terms of shipboard activities, shore excursions, and accommodations, we’ll talk to a travel agent and get the best possible deal that we can.

So…who’s in?