Seven Seas Cruising Association - Commodore Designation
2017 will be one of our most memorable years. Foreign Affair took us thousands of miles during our travels along the US East Coast and The Bahamas. Upon our return from 80 days exploring The Bahamas, we were nominated for Commodore status in the Seven Seas Cruising Association. We consider this an honor and significant achievement. Our SSCA Commodore burgee recently arrived in the mail. With it comes responsibility. We are expected to continue to serve as exemplary models for others. Experienced cruisers know they will eventually face some challenging situations and must be self-reliant because help is not always readily available. Responsible cruisers "pay it forward". They share what they have learned with others so they too can marvel at the wonderful life they are experiencing and to help them better prepare for the inevitable challenges. We are grateful to all those who helped us in so many ways in the past and look forward to doing the same for others.
Girls Outing - Lunch and the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
Dwayne took his youngest grand-daughters for an outing with limited exposure to the outdoors as the temperatures were in the single digits. The original plan was to have lunch at Fritz's located at the Crown Center followed by ice skating. The line to get into Fritz's was extremely long and the wait to be seated was well over an hour. As a result, we ate at the Mexican restaurant next door and had a wonderful lunch of quesadillas, burritos and Mexican bottled soft drinks. The girls were well pleased with this substitute for Fritz's. The brief walk to the skating rink convinced them it was too cold to spend much time in the outdoors. As a result, we headed to the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures. The museum greatly exceeded their expectations as the doll houses and miniatures on display were stupendous and varied. Their oohs and awes were loud and interrupted by occasional squeals of joy as they ran from exhibit to exhibit admiring the beauty and craftsmanship of the models. The second floor exhibit of vintage toys was not as exciting. However, they did have a good time shooting marbles at the exhibit dedicated to the VFW Marble Tournaments. The day was topped off with dessert and coffee at Starbucks on the Plaza. The ride home was a concert of Christmas carols and plotting to convince Marin's mother to allow the girls to have a sleep over that night.
Luncheon with the Girls - Plaza III
Dwayne took his teenage grand-daughters to the award winning Plaza III steak house where they enjoyed a fabulous casual luncheon. These young ladies were very excited that they were experiencing some of the finer things in life and being treated as young adults. As expected, the food was fabulous and service superb. Dwayne and Alana took great pleasure in slowly consuming their petite filet and grilled jumbo shrimp with bearnaise sauce served with asparagus and fried potatoes. Maddy opted for the Kansas City Strip steak perfectly aged and served medium-well done. The girls split a slice of rich white and dark chocolate cake. They shared not out of concern for the calories but due to the fact they doubted they could each eat a piece on their own. Dwayne had the traditional cheese cake topped with caramel sauce. He wisely avoided the bread to allow for dessert.
(Update: Plaza III Closed the following year.)
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to all! Carla and Dwayne spent the holidays with family and friends. We are very fortunate to be living so well and enjoying life with wonderful people in beautiful surroundings. 2017 passed quickly and we anticipate the same will hold true for 2018. We wish everyone a joyous holiday season and extraordinary New Year.
The Nutcracker Ballet and Dinner at Lidia's
Eric invited Dwayne to join his family for dinner at Lidia's followed by the Kansas City Ballet's performance of "The Nutcracker" at the Kaufman Center. We had a wonderful meal at the finest Italian restaurant in Kansas City. Dwayne had the pork shoulder spiced with rose mary along with roasted potatoes and steamed spinach greens. It was very tasty when served with a fine chianti wine. Everyone was very satisfied with the meal as evidenced by the lack of left-overs. No doggy bags.
The Kansas City Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker was well beyond what was expected. It was filled with innovative costuming and dance which made it a very refreshing visual experience while remaining true to the music and story. The KC Ballet performed this production at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. over the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm sure all who attended were amazed that such a marvelous ballet troupe could exist in a "small town in fly-over country". This was the most captivating performance of The Nutcracker I have seen. We all had a wonderful evening.
The Nightmare Before Christmas and the Kansas City Symphony
Dwayne was invited to attend the Kansas City Symphony's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" concert at the Kaufman Performing Arts Center. The orchestra played the score to accompany the Disney movie. Sarah and the girls wore skirts and slacks which had images of Jack and other characters from the movie. It was a wonderful performance and a great way to introduce the kids to the symphony. We are very fortunate to have such a splendid venue for the performing arts. The Kaufman Center is a work of art in its own right. After the performance, we headed to The Melting Pot for cheese and chocolate fondue. It was a great evening with family.
Electrical Work
Carla decided to switch out the electrical switches and outlets in the kitchen from white to ivory to better match the paint color. She has to find something to keep her busy now that she isn't polishing stainless steel or fighting salt spray on the deck of Foreign Affair. Besides the electrical work, she has been baking stollen and cookies for the holidays. No idle hands here. She keeps busy.
Gingerbread Houses
The grandchildren made gingerbread houses for the holiday. Carla bought two decorating kits and got them started on the project. The results were really impressive considering the kids did all the work. It was a wonderful way for cousins to share some time and create memories for the future. Carla baked cookies while the kids constructed and decorated the gingerbread houses.
Lucky Ones
We drove out to check on Lucky Ones, our Catalina 27 which has been on the hard for over two years. She is looking fine and her bilge was bone dry. That means the cabin windows aren't leaking. She should be ready to launch next spring after a thorough scrubbing and with some new bottom paint. We replaced one of the tarps covering her as the existing one was starting to fall apart. The ride out was sunny and warm. Seeing her in great shape made this outing very pleasant.
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