FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile
February 25, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 20 – Monday, February 18 – Valparaíso to Viña del Mar, Chile – blue skies, cool ocean breeze – low 60’s
- 11:00 – check in to Hotel San Martin
- B – room isn’t ready until 2:00
- take a stroll through town
- C – there’s a Starbucks 2 blocks from hotel! have a cappuccino break
- 12:30 – lunch @ Diego’s Pizza across from hotel – local beer Cristal not bad – nice arugula, tomato, onion, feta salad
- B – pizza just so-so
- B – costs $53 for 3 beers, 1 salad & I medium pizza
- 2:00 – check in & siesta
- B – size does matter when it comes to a room – and so does being off a busy street! forgot to request a quiet room!
- A – free internet
- B – very slow
- 8:15 – dinner @ Delicias del Mar – recommended by hotel – butterfish w/spinach cream sauce (never eaten this before) mushrooms w/baby shrimp, green salad w/avocado, hearts of palm
FF – (FUN-fact) – Chris says I am always looking for the pearl. It’s true! I like to try new things which can be risky or make for a wonderful surprise.
FUN:travel – Valparaiso, Chile – End of Seabourn Cruise
February 21, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Valparaiso, Chile – End of Seabourn Cruise
Sunday Brunch in the Galley
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 20 – Monday, February 18 – Valparaíso to Viña del Mar – End of Cruise – more sunshine, blue skies sprinkled with light cottony clouds, cool breeze
- 7:15 – wake up
- A – don’t disembark until 10:30
- B – have to be out of room by 8:00
- B – breakfast is over at 9:00 instead of 10:00
- B – remember I forgot my pajamas
- C – go back to room & still there!
- C – get to see all of my by birthday party friends before we leave!
- 10:15 – take shuttle from ship to terminal
- 10:30 – out of customs
- C – ask staff about taxi’s & told Official taxi costs twice as much as local outside the gate
- A – porter gets our bags & runs us out past the front gate
- A – takes 15 minutes & costs $20
Decadent Dessert
FF – (FUN-fact) – We covered 3941 nautical miles from Buenos Aires to Valparaíso.
- Cruise Recap: This is our second Seabourn cruise and we like that everything is included (except the internet which is slow and expensive.) The food on the Sojourn was a bit inconsistent compared to the Quest this summer. The coffee was not very good and the espresso beans not that much better. What would it take to get really good beans? The complimentary wine was very average and we think Regent 7 Seas offers a better selection and their espresso is better too. In fairness we think Seabourn does a better of job of dinner selections. We like the cabin size at almost 300 sq. ft even for the least expensive ones. The service was excellent!
FUN:travel – At Sea – Seabourn Cruise – Day 15
February 21, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – At Sea – Seabourn Cruise – Day 15
Bread & Appetizer Table
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 19 – Sunday, February 17 – At Sea – Cruise Day 15 – wake up to sunshine! Chilly breeze
- 8:00 – begin typical sea day
- 11:00 – School – lecture on ghost ships & rogue waves the devour ships – glad this is the day before we get off!
- A – 12:00 – Galley Market lunch in main dining room – beautiful spread of salads & appetizers – 2 huge dessert tables
- A – main courses served in the galley – never done this before!
- A – kitchen is spotless
- 4:45 – phone rings for another invite @ hosted table – don’t accept – too risky to be stuck w/people you may not have a connection with
- 6:45 – happy hour w/Susan & John – Observation bar deck 10
- A – lots of little white caps fill the sea as far as the eye can see
- 7:45 – dinner in Colonnade – Italian theme – carpaccio & Osso Buco VG!
Dessert Table
- B – minestrone w/o beans or pasta isn’t minestrone
- C – 9:45 – rock the boat party @ the Club – have a drink w/ Don & Steve
FF – (FUN-fact) – Two cooks do nothing but make bread and 5000 bread sticks every day.
Staff Captain Emil & Captain Hamish @ Brunch
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #446: Possibilities
February 21, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #446: Possibilities
Possibilities – things that you are capable of achieving.
Have you ever achieved something that you thought would be impossible? Have you ever dreamed of reaching or getting something so outrageous that you quickly dismissed it? Do you believe anything is possible?
Three weeks ago I wrote about US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and this week I felt compelled to write about her memoir titled “My Beloved World.” This second UT article covered her speech at USD. She said, “I wrote it as honestly and candidly as I could.”
She joked that the book was thick, so if she ever let her status go to her head, her family and friends could whack her with it. Then she
got serious: “The essence of its purpose was to remind me of where I came from. Anything is possible. Becoming who you want to be is something everyone in this room should aim for, work for…but also take joy in.”
She urged young people to reach for their dreams but also to anchor themselves in their family histories. “If you’re fortunate enough to have a living parent…a living grandparent…who remembers your family stories, take the time to listen to their stories. And ask why. Why did that happen and how did that make you feel?”
I believe that your possibilities are either limited or unlimited based on your thinking. I know that to be true for me. When my dear friend Gloria told me that we would be going to the Academy Awards in 1995, I never in my wildest dreams ever thought it would happen. And it did in 1998! And it totally changed how I think about possibilities.
This week’s focus is about your possibilities. Are you who you want to be? What is in your wildest dreams? Do you believe you are capable of achieving anything you want? What is stopping you from going for it?
Reader Responses
“I tell my daughters that they can be anything that they want to be. My older daughter talked about being a teacher a couple of years ago. Recently, after talking to my sister-in-law, who is an interior designer, she has talked about doing that for a living, especially opening her own business. I don’t know what she will do, but she has the ability to do anything she wants and we have inculcated that belief in her. My 11-year-old than asked our 4-year-old what she wanted to do. She honestly did not know what she wanted to do. She is very straightforward for her age. You probably experienced doubts from people when you had decided to write your books. During my search for a publisher, which took a couple of years, I had one woman ask, “What happens if you don’t find a publisher?” Almost as if that would be an obstacle. My answer was that I would self-publish. It is amazing how people look at the limits, or obstacles, instead of the possibilities. I don’t think I ever believed that I would not get my first book published. Maybe it had something to do with the belief in my abilities or the project, but it never occurred to me that it would never get accomplished. The publisher for my second book wanted the manuscript completed in two and a half months. That compressed time frame intimidated me at the start, but the more I thought about it the more I believed that it would be done. One of my co-workers asked me on more than one occasion, “Do you think you will finish it on time?” He did not think I would. But I reassured him that it would be done – ON TIME. And I delivered it to the publisher on the day that I said I would. I don’t know if having those who doubted me was taken on as a challenge by me or if it just reinforced the belief in my abilities. But I made a commitment, and when I make commitments I have always stuck with them, come rain, shine, hell or high water. When I make my next commitment – whether it be a book or other project – I will do the same thing. And I think my daughters have picked up on that in their own lives. Everything is possible. We just have to keep an open mind to the infinite possibilities in our lives. And we will never know until we really try.” – “Warrior” Joe
FUN:travel – Puerto Montt, Chile – Seabourn Cruise – Day 14
February 19, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Puerto Montt, Chile – Seabourn Cruise – Day 14
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 18 – Saturday, February 16 – Puerto Montt, Chile – Cruise Day 14 – Scenic Cruising Reloncavi Sound – much cooler, massive white clouds mixed w/grey & some blue skies
- B – wake up 0’dark:30 for 8 hr excursion
- 7:10 – go to grand salon to hurry up & wait
- 7:30 – tender to town
- 7:45 – board bus to Petrohue rapids, Emerald lake & Puerto Varas tour
- B – takes 2 hours to reach Vicente Perez Rosales National Park
Petrohue Rapids
- B – can’t see the snow capped Osorno volcano
- B – mountains are shrouded in fog & clouds
- B – road washed out in parts from torrential rains
- 9:45 – 1st stop – catamaran ride on Emerald Lake
- B – raining, poor visibility – sun allows full color
- 10:45 – bus to Petrohue rapids
- 11:15 – 2nd stop – walk along trail & bridges to see rapids – Chile’s mini version of Iguassu
- B – pouring rain & wind
- A – back to bus to stay dry
- 11: 30 – go figure, sun comes out
- 12:15 – lunch break – town of Ensanada for Salmon, pisco sours, wine
- 1:15 – drive to Puerto Varas for shopping
- B – overpriced for the most part
- 2: 15 – drive back to tender
- 3:30 – back on ship
- 4:30 – set sail
- 6:45 – happy hour @ the club w/our favorite bartender Andre & guitarist Daniel
- 7:30 – 2nd formal night – 2nd invite for hosted dinner – this time @ Hubert the Hotel Directors table
- B – no shows tonight, too tired
FF – (FUN-fact) – Puerto Montt is often referred to as the Salmon Capital of Chile.
