Fried Chicken to Die From

This recipe is from Cooks Country... It is amazing... and as Sue would say you wouldn't eat this everyday so its okay to eat this occasionally. It makes a chicken that easily beats KFC or the pressure fried types.  Everything needs to be close at hand and sequenced when the frying begins. I used my very cool infrared sensing thermometer to gauge the heat. I didn't quite have 3 quarts of oil... and I used a pint of peanut oil along with a medium wesson oil container.. it still worked. It took the time required to reach the meat temps required. The dutch oven my Kirkland version of the famous french Le Cruiset worked out beautifully.

Batter-Fried Chicken

From Cook's Country

August/September 2009

Why this recipe works: As far as technique went for our Batter-Fried Chicken recipe, deep-frying easily beat out shallow-frying. With shallow-frying, the batter always burned on the bottom. To ensure a crisp crust, we replaced the milk in our initial batters with plain old water. It turned out that when wet batter hit the hot frying oil, the moisture in the batter vaporized, leaving behind the solids that adhered to the chicken. With milk, the sugars in the milk solids browned too fast and produced a soft crust.
Using equal parts cornstarch and flour in the batter ensured a crisp crust on the chicken. And baking powder added lift and lightness without doughiness. We flavored our batter with black pepper, paprika, and cayenne for simple but unambiguous flavor.

Serves 4 to 6

Total time:

Halve breasts crosswise and separate leg quarters into thighs and drumsticks.

Ingredients BRINE

• 1 quart cold water
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (see note)

BATTER

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 5 teaspoons pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups cold water
• 3 quarts peanut or vegetable oil

Instructions

• 1. MAKE BRINE Whisk water, salt, and sugar in large bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Add chicken and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
• 2. MAKE BATTER Whisk flour, cornstarch, pepper, paprika, cayenne, baking powder, salt, and water in large bowl until smooth. Refrigerate batter while chicken is brining.
• 3. FRY CHICKEN Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Remove chicken from refrigerator, pour off brine, and pat dry with paper towels. Rewhisk batter. Transfer half of chicken to batter. One piece at a time, remove chicken from batter (allowing excess to drip back into bowl) and transfer to oil. Fry chicken, adjusting burner as necessary to maintain oil temperature between 300 and 325 degrees, until deep golden brown and white meat registers 160 degrees (175 degrees for dark meat), 12 to 15 minutes. Drain chicken on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet. Bring oil back to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken. Serve.

Fry in 2 batches.. if using a Foster Farms chicken don't bother with the back and neck pieces save them for soup. The foster farms fryers are generally larger than the eastern raised chickens. 

In the end you end up with a tempura style of fried chicken.  

yum yum! : ) Pat

Biscuit Cobbler

I think that this recipe was part of some family web pages that were deleted in the last revision. Linzi called me this morning as I was on my extended walk and asked for this ditty. This is the only kind that Linzi really likes.

Biscuit Part:
2C of All purpose flour
1TB of baking powder
4TB of sugar
1/2 tsp of cream of tarter (or not)
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 Cup of Butter
3/4 Cup of whipping cream, light Cream or milk

This is the topping.

The fruit goop:

4Cups of chopped ripe fruit
1/4 Cup of minute Tapicoca
1 Cup of Sugar (varies depending on your taste and the tartness of the fruit)
4 Tbs of Butter (sliced to drop on the top of the goop after assembly in the cobbler)

Directions: 
Fresh style: Oven at 300 degrees
Assemble goop into a well buttered baking vessel (like an 8inch square baking pan) , drop dough on top and bake the entire thing in  slower oven to allow for the goop to encorporate its tapioca. Take out when bubbles show up around the matrix and the biscuit looks done.

Controlled style
Combine the ingredients of the goop in a saucepan. Under 400 degree heat, stir and heat until the mixture solidifies.
 Roll out the biscuits and place on top of the goop. Bake in a moderate oven until the biscuits floating on the goop seem done and not goopy. 

Texas style: Oven at 300 degrees
Put the biscuit dough on the bottom of the baking pan. Spread the goop on top. As the biscuits come up they integrate with the goop. 

We have one more week before we have tree ripe fruit. Enjoy!

Waiting for the Heat

There is no denying it. Its Summer in Merced California.

Today we are waiting for the triple digit heat to begin.

Contrary to most diatribes coming from the rest of the family, it is not always 100 degrees plus over here in the valley. It is even true that at this time of the year we often get the last vestiges of rain for the year right in front of graduation ceremonies.

Its hard to talk realities to people who feel that 72 degrees is too hot to bear.

We will reach that thresh hold today at  9 Am. Most of the time the weather does not get in the way of outdoor activities. When it gets this hot we find things to do indoors or make sure that outdoor activities are completed in the morning. Sure we do not need jackets at anytime. You can go to the fair and not feel cold in the evening watching the performances.

Most people around here make sure that their liquid consumption increases with the weather. We drink more liquids. The Central Valley had to have beverage bars at all fast food restaurant settings. When every you eat you have to adjust your liquid content. Drink Drink Drink. This becomes pretty strange when in the late Fall the opposite occurs and the habit of glupping down liquid gives way to a more reasonable level.

Everyone on my block knows that the vegetation needs to be watered prior to the temperature changes today. 100 degree temps mean that water have to be in the ground deeply as the air temperature rises. All lawns were watered this morning before 9AM and they may get a short cool off shot this afternoon just to keep the roots from drying out.

The summer flowers love this heat. They also must have some water everyday in this streak. I have planted the front patio with annuals just like I try to do every year. There is always a battle that goes on when planting annuals. Do you plant for the short term. This requires replanting three times during the growing seasons. Or... can you use a planting scheme that allows for various plants to flower at the peak and then die off and then allow the next more sun related plants to take over and then plant one more time in the fall for the cool frost sturdy plants to keep blooming through the winter and into the start of the Spring.

This year I am trying a new strategy. The petunias which produce such sturdy color got eliminated because after July, they will not survive here. Marigolds (the dwarf variety) will do well up into September. Portulaca, or Moss Rose love the sun and will continue to produce all the way up into the Fall. They will not be as full as they will until there is consistent heat. Their drop off could be in October when the weather shifts. White Alysumm do well throughout the year and provide that garden fragrance. They need to be the base for the cool weather plantings that will occur in the early Fall and provide for the flowers in the Winter.

Overall I think that this garden is a pretty forward looking patio garden. Before each planting, I always add a couple of scoops of osmokote slow release fertilizer to the pots. My watering schedule for most of the summer is daily. I have learned the hard way that very large pots have to be used in this climate to raise annuals off the ground. Most of my pots are over 5 gallon in size.
It has been really fun to have a patio garden. We had it put in 8 years ago. There is something really nice and earthy about a saltio tile patio.

: ) Pat

OMG Peanut Butter Cookies

The classic peanut butter cookie is slightly greasy, crumbly and immediately calls for a glass of milk to wash them down.

Not so with this cookie recipe. I am not a huge fan of cookies. But... after making a batch of these... I think I could turn into a cookies monster. The recipe calls for 2Tablespoon cookies.. so they can be pretty large.  They are crisp and soft at the same time. The extra chopped up peanuts and the use of all butter.. makes them a premium cookie all the way.

So give them a try! From Cooks I.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2teaspoon table salt
• 1/2pound butter (2 sticks), salted
• 1cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1cup granulated sugar
• 1cup extra-crunchy peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1cup roasted salted peanuts , ground in food processor to resemble bread crumbs, about 14 pulses (about 1 cup, packed)

Instructions

1. 1. Adjust oven rack to low center position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.
2. 2. In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes with electric mixer, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add ground peanuts; stir gently until just incorporated.
3. 3. Working with 2 tablespoons dough at a time (see illustration 1 below), roll into large balls, placing them 2 inches apart on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Following illustration 2, press each dough ball with back of dinner fork dipped in cold water to make crisscross design. Bake until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along edges, but not top, 10 to 12 minutes (they will not look fully baked). Cool cookies on cookie sheet until set, about 4 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 7 days.
   yeah.. sure... : ) Pat

Reflections About the Cruise.. LA to Hawaii January 2013

Post Hawaii to LA Cruise Thoughts
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1. Enjoy the environment there: There were people on the ship that will complain about most everything. It so easy when you are within your own fishbowl to find objection with tiny details that you would not possible think about if you were in your own world back home. A woman complained as we were waiting to get off the ship in Kaui that it was unbelievable that they only opened the laundromats at 8am when people had to clearly iron their shirts and dresses before leaving the ship at 8:30.  Kauli is a jungle type environment and no one was going to care if your garments were ironed.

2. Be a picky eater at the Buffet, There is so many really cool things to eat at the buffet it is tempting to try them all and overeat and fee miserable. Pick just one meat, vegetables if they look good and only one desert at each buffet seating. Drink lots of water.. Beverages are brought to you on Princess ships.. I always asked for two water glasses.

3. Do not rely on the ship to provide you books for your reading addiction. The Golden Princess had a very small library that was only open during a few hours each day. Most of the time the shelves were locked up behind glass doors. The other people on the ship brought the books that they had read from their own home collections and dropped them into a pile in the unlocked regions of the library and others quickly snagged them up to read. This didn't get strated until we were a couple of days into the trip and people had finished their paperbacks that they had brought on. I always had an eye out for Sue and she joins the many others that read the popular paperback books. The library shares the same square footage with the internet cafe. Only 6 upholstered chairs reside in the library portion of the piazza. There were many other places that people could hang out and read on this ship... and they did.

4. The Winter /Spring season is a great time to be in Hawaii. There seemed to be many more vicious storms that lashed out at our rubber necking when we took the trip in November. The end of January to the end of April is the whale season in the islands. It is really the best time to see such wildlife. While we were closer to the humpback whales in Alaska, the Maui Whale adventure was more fun as we saw more whales in a area.

5.Renting a car for a day was really worth it. The excursions that we would have gone on if we had not rented a car would have cost more than the two of us in a rental car in Hawaii. Hawaii is one of our states and renting a car and driving it in the United Sates is really not that hard to do. It gives you independence so that if you want to stop and have a bite to eat somewhere you can. Renting a car will allow you to get out an see more of the country than an excursion. Some of the people on the ship booked their own excursions. They ran into some pretty interesting people and had great experiences as well.  They were British so driving in the US was somewhat problematic for them.

6. If you are an avid TV watcher you may be disappointed. The ship subscribed to a service that takes the best sitcoms off the TV and provides the ship with an edited version that had no comericals. If you were falling a soap or a little known serial you might be out of luck as the Tv in the rooms at Fox and MSNBC and the BBC but no ESPN or any Guiding Light.

7. Work for a happy attitude. There were a great number of people that boarded the ship that fall into the category of curmudgeon. They had waited all their life for a nice trip like this and were ill prepared to take advantage of it. I would like to say that it was only the old men on the ship that faced this attitude. But sadly many of the older women were facing this attitude as well. Some of these old coots would turn down the hand wipes at the food stations. Theses protected everyone, There was always a health person overseeing the hand wipes at the station. Many of the older passengers were disgusted that they had to swipe their hands with a alcohol towelette before each meal. They would wave it off. These people would also walk the ship desks with foul looks on their faces. Some come with preconceived attitudes of how it should be. In the buffet area the people can cut in and out when there is a space. I got told off by an old bitty who thought that the buffet was set up like a mid western cafeteria. Everyone grabs a tray and in lock step action follows the one ahead to each station.  I smiled and did what I wanted to do.

8. Hawaii was hit with the recession like all small towns. It really is a collection of small towns with the exception of Honolulu. People are not quite back up to the economic prowess of a few years ago. Hawaii is much more agricultural than I thought. It is still pretty hang loose.  I drove past huge fields with people working in the field on Kaui and one person had just left his horse across the road from where was working. It had a huge rope connected to its bridle but nothing significant to tie it down. I suppose it was a worker's means of getting home that night.

9. I was amazed at the elevation gain in the drives that we took on the islands. The sides of the volcano are rather steep. When the elevation is gained, the air is much cooler. Grab that sweatshirt. There were only 2 days that shorts felt comfortable on the whole cruise... so too many shorts were packed but you never know. As you can tell from the ship diary, it was not a cruise that had a huge number of days were people were out in the sun..This trip was not a Mexican Rivera kind of voyage.

10. Hawaii was much less commercial than I imagined. People live their lives without hassle. There were no big signs along the roads I drove in Hawaii. There were road access signs to the macadamia nut company and other places of interest but there were no signs advertising cities or businesses within the city in any part of Hawaii that we traveled.

11. I was somewhat amazed that the breakers on the beaches were pretty far away. There were some exceptions but the access to decent water before the waves was pretty interesting. In January there were not that many people in the ocean all together... of course with so many ocean beaches it was pretty spread out.

12. The ship hit its marks on arrival time and departure time with the exception of the initial departure delay. 25 miles an hour 24 hours a day and night will get you a pretty decent distance. On the ship you also realize what it would take to get a sailboat across this stretch of ocean.

13. Important fan type activities can still be maintained while in the middle of the ocean. The division championship was easily broadcasted so that all could see the game in several venues.

14. There seems to be much less of a "sell going on in the ship." The drink hawakers were not so persistent on this cruise. There seemed to be a significant drop in the number of photographers on the ship. So you weren't hounded so much for photos. Even the ports had a low key sense of shopping. On every Alaskan cruise there were the usual Del sol tee shirt outfits that sell the shirts that change color in the sun and the Diamonds International that pitch in going ashore presentations promos for slick sales.  All of that didn't seem to be occurring on this ship. Most of the people on the ship were pretty savvy travelers and this pitch for the tanzanite would fall on deaf ears.

This lack of pitching an up pricing is pretty much gone in the ship experience. People took advantage of the soda cards and the coffee cards, so they became a useful tool rather than a loss of tipped service to the providers.

15. It was nice to see various parts of the islands. The one packing and unpacking allowed for more time to be spent having fun rather than cabin or room chores. The cabins in our category are significantly smaller than a hotel room but they offered the convenience of every night knowing where you would stay.

16. Hawaii in January was very similar to the Central Valley in April regarding temperatures (mid 70's during the daylight hours). Its great to be in either place for comfort in the weather.

17. People will find their own. Passengers will do the work around. When a small group of people decide to eat with people more of their liking.. they found a way to do it with anytime dining. When the books ran out of the poorly operated too small library... people donated books they had already read to anonymous passengers that also put up their walk on books.

18. Overall the evening entertainment is declining. On this ship with 15 nights of potential, their were only 4 song and dance nights with the cruise dancers and singers. The resident live band behind these performances as been replaced with recorded soundtracks. The comedians on the ship were less than spectacular. One or two night stands have become the rule. Almost first run movies have replaced some of the live stange shows of 5 years ago. The venue has changed to smaller cabaret settings for entertainment and much more available in smaller settings.  The piano bar signer has set up a Mitch Miller kind of sing along in one small walk through setting. The older people really liked the ability to sing along with the old favorites that they grew up learning.  The art auctions had fewer painting to sell. Triva in group settings has taken over some of the traditional small nightclub settings. Dancing to the big band sounds are out, but more string quartet venues were available. Elue and the Hawaiian themed music was featured throughout the on deck music venue and the Piazza. Elue gave a concert using all of Don Ho's music. Overall the entertainment package on ship has morphed. In some ways it takes away the need to consume alcohol at every venue and that is pretty much a good thing. I never saw anyone falling down drunk.

19. Overall it was a fantastic value. The cruise fare was $1200 each and our extras on the cruise card purchases, excursion and tips were under $800.  The biggest cost would be taking off work for 2 weeks and not getting paid during that time. As retired folks, that was not an issue. It was also really nice to have a neighbor get a little cash for coming over and loving our cats while we were gone.  

Day 15 LA to Hawaii Cruise Portside- Home

Day 15 LA to San Pedro CA, January 30th 2013

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We woke up to a beautiful day in LA. It was cool and bright. The push was to get us out of the rooms by 9Am so that they could completely reset the rooms for the next cruise. They would start boarding on their adventure to Hawaii around 12:30.

Sue wanted to check to see if something she had lost was returned to the lost and found at the purser's desk. While we were there with all of our drag off the ship stuff, I talked her into the formal breakfast. I had some great  lox, french toast and some sausages. The wait staff found a good place to store our stuff as we ate. Since we are premium card holders... meaning that we have cruised with Princess for a lot of cruises, we got to stay in the Wheelhouse Bar. Its the same one that we took the ukelele lessons in with the high back chairs and the couches.  It also had cookies and beverages available to us. Most of all it had the mini couches that Sue desperately needed to sit or lay upon. Sue found it much more comfortable to "lay out" on one than to sit in her chair at the ready for our color and number to be announced. Some poor people were stuck on bar stools waiting for the call. Sue did some shut eye and I pulled out my kindle. We were called to hit the gangway at 11:15. We waited on shore to go through immigration and customs. We sailed right through.

We had a great porter. He got us and all of our bags out on the curb from the gigantic warehouse area that our bags were gathered. When I looked for a our Expedition truck in the parking lot it was exactly where I thought I put it, and I paid the parking charges with a credit card and pulled up to the loading dock. Our porter appeared again, he was helping others get their bags out and loaded. He helped me get the suitcases (the two giant ones) up on the top of the seat inside, so that the manual wheelchair could occupy the luggage area of the truck with the back seat pushed forward. The power chair got into its position after the lift had swung out to accommodate lifting the tail gate up. The lift worked to get the power chair up and we made sure that all bags made it in the truck and that we didn't leave one at the port.

We headed out of San Pedro, which is on the other side of the bridge from Terminal Island and Long Beach. We got on the 110 and sailed though LA without many stops and starts. From the 110 we merged into I5 around Burbank and headed north.

We got some late lunch/dinner at the stop near Buttonwillow that had a popies it was a first for us, we felt it was strange paying for our food... since for over 2 weeks it was provided at no charge on the ship.

We stopped again at Harris Ranch to use the restroom and get some snacks. I got a couple of pieces of Harris Ranch Beef jerky and Sue had a cheese pocket from the bakery and a fruit tart. Harris Ranch is almost exactly 100 miles from home. We pulled into Merced at 5:00pm. It was dark.

The kitties were so happy to see us.

Day 14 --- Land Ho in Ensenada at 4pm

Day 14 LA to Hawaii January 29, 2013
Ensenada Mexico 4-8
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Ukelele Hula Show

At 11:15 we had a rehearsal for the big ukulele hula show on the big Princess stage. They filmed it for the events DVD. The show was set for 2pm for the passengers to see. At rehearsal we all signed releases since there were a lot of mechanical on the ship's stage that need to be pointed out and we needed to be reminded on how to avoid injury. There was a particularly low spiral staircase right by the entrance to the stage. There were trap doors and uneven spots on the stage floor that could make it difficult for the hula dancers. The ukulele players were all positioned on the risers in the back of the stage. music stands were set up so that we could see our music. The ukulele players were 3 to a music stand.

We practiced the show. My position was in the back with 35 to 40 year old blonds Denise and Tammy with a husband Chuck. The women were into getting the sway going with the music. I was glad that I brought my big timberline black shoes for the formal night on the stage as they were the perfect counteraction to the sway of the ship on the platform risers when the ship started rocking.  After the practice, I had time to go back up to the room, take a shower and eat some lunch and go to the show.

All our dinner mates showed up to see the show. Sue was there too. The theater was packed with people.  It was so nice for all of my friends to come. David shot a movie of the ukelele players . When the show was over, I went up to the top deck to watch as come into Ensenada.

Ensenada has a large bay in front of the city. Many islands way out in the sea predict the bay to come. They were visible 2 hours before we got to the dock. They were there to let you know that the city was not far away. The islands got bigger as we headed to port.

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 The Ensenada Sailors

Ensenada is a Baja California town that is 86 miles for San Diego. In driving time since the toll road has been made is about 1 hour and 32 minutes away. From Newport Beach California to Ensenada is a 125 mile nautical venture. Every year a huge race with about 200 sailboats compete. This year's race was sponsored by Lexus. The overall winner received a two year lease of a brand new Lexus car.

I was up on the 14th deck near our cabin as the Golden Princess pulled into the port of Ensenada about one hour earlier than planned. Its a really beautiful bay to sail into and we were all hungry to see some land after so many days at sea from Hawaii. The Baja mountains rise up from the sea and a bay view from the houses was not missed from the  houses with big picture windows.

As the ship was throwing lines and securing itself to the docks I talked to a couple who was watching out the view windows beside the pool on the smoker side of the outdoor deck.

She was about my age, smallish with black close cut haircut... sort of what we used to call a pixie cut. Her husband was there with dirty blonde mustach and a full beard. He was about the same size as her.
 As we talked, I found out that they raced sailboats on the race from Newport to Ensenada. They told me of how the town had changed since they were active in the races. They said that during their time there were very few boats used to be in the harbor. How the winners limited their partying the night before the race but partied strong into the night when they arrived in Ensenada.

The husband claimed that at one time they had won three of the classes in the single race. He drank champagne from each of the trophies.

She told of the tale of the boat that in the middle of the night ran headlong into one of the islands. The boat exploded an all the sailors perished. The only reasonable explanation was the skipper and the navigator had fallen asleep. Usually the crew on the sailboat included enough people so that a 3 hour watch could rotate through the night and day. Some crews were less vigilant regarding sleep.

Later on the internet I pulled up the story. It seems from published story, it was the first fatality in 65 years. Their take on it was the smaller sailboat was smashed by a tanker of some sort and the they looked for the sailors in three miles of debris.

It was nice to be around when memories are discussed. Thier sailboat had three masts which means it could have been a ketch or a yawl.

We also had a conversation about the America's cup. They said that those new catamarans could not make turns. It was sure amazing that they could sail faster than the wind that was blowing.

The wife was not feeling so good. she had not been up on deck since we had left Hawaii. She though that she had motion sickness. Her friends looked at her quizzically. She explained that when racing she was always on the deck or the very highest spot on the sailboat. She was not used to spending time down below. If they take a cruise again, I bet they will be up with us on the top passenger stateroom deck.

I asked Sue if she wanted to go ashore and shop the mexican shops by the port. This a mile of walking distance from teh ship to the town. The causeway could be crossed by series of buses that designated just for cruise passengers. The ship said that it would cost 2 dollars each way to take the buses into town. When I got on the bus they wanted 3 but it covered going and coming a round trip.
There was a significant group of Mexican store right beside the ship in the port. Many people from the ship decided to do their shopping right there. I found two of our Mexican souvenirs right there even though I went into town looking for more variety.

I love the Mexican tin. On the walls were a red heart with wings that were silver and hammered. Heather collects Dia de Muerta (Day of the Dead) stuff. I found a cross that had a skelaton in the middle of it... homage to Dia de Muerta.

I got on the bus to go downtown. It let us off at the top of the hill of the tourist section. This is where 8-10 blocks down the hill were the shops for the Mexican crafts/ beer bars and food.

The massive halls/bars along this road are some of the famous. Papas and Beer bar/restaurant, Senior Frogs was also there. Non of the showed any action as we were there between 4-6pm... way to early for the action to start at these bars/

The craft shops had a couple of guitar shops, lots of leather products and just a few clothing and pottery shops. I found a place thta sold little purses that had classic needlepoint designs. I bought 3 for 3.50 each.

As for the pitch so common in Mexican shopping areas, I was touched 3 times on the arms and shoulders on my path up and down the blocks. This is way too much for Sue's safety so I was glad that she was not with me for this run.

As the sun went down over the Pacific Ocean in the East, a dramatic sunset spread across the sky. It was time for me to get back to the ship.

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 Elisabeth Celebrates her 75th Birthday with Us

It was one of our dinner table's seat mate's 75th birthday. She did not want the waiters to come sing her happy birthday. They have been doing that at least 4 times each night in our  sitting.

Sue made her a beautiful blue necklace and earrings set. She also made Deb, the other table mate an orange set made with some of the free beads that we all got when entering Hilo Hatties...they look like little conch shells.  She added some pretty orange glass pieces to it too.

I made her a home made watercolor card with fish on it. Elizabeth was crazy about going to the Maui aquarium The words on the inside said, "We are all schooled up to wish you a happy 75th birthday." I got Deb and Dave (the others at our table) to sign the card earlier in the day when we ran into them in the Piazza.
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Round the up and Head them to the Hall

When I got back to the room, we went over every inch of the stateroom to get it all into the luggage to put out in the hall for the porters to take away. It was important to leave out the clothes that were to be worn the next morning as we left the ship. We had four bags for the porters to take out of the hall to our disembarkation slot. This also included the manual wheelchair as Sue was to drive through the ramps with her power chair. So it was as always is a challenge. Every time we say to ourselves at this spot in the cruise that we will never take so many clothes on the next trip.There are 8 laundromats on the ship.
The sail up the coast was pretty uneventful. The Pacific Coast from Ensenada to San Pedro was pretty calm and smooth.