Saturday, May 28, 2016

5-28-16 Testing Out the New Camera



So, I have been debating about purchasing a new camera.  I have two cameras I used last year, my Canon Digital Rebel with the regular and zoom lenses and then a small pocket camera which is a Casio that I have had for 5 or 6 years.  The Casio takes great pictures, however, it has been acting suspicious, and I have been taking my Canon these last couple of years, but with all the camera gear and stuff, it is just a lot to take all the way across the world by the time I am bringing my laptop, Ipad and all my other electronic gear.

So, after narrowing down my choices and conducting my research, I finally decided to purchase the new Canon SX720HS with a 40x zoom.  This is a pocket size camera and then thing that caught my attention is the 40x zoom because I love to zoom but hate changing lenses all the time.  I had read good reviews on line.  I purchased mine at Sam’s Club for $339.

Now I decided I needed to test out my camera before my actual vacation, so what better way than to hop on the Disney Fantasy May 21st for a week to actually see how well this camera works.  Here are some pictures I took during the week:

First picture way off in the distance from Port Canaveral is the NASA building right in the middle.


Second picture is the 40x zoom on the NASA building.



Then at sailaway here is Tisa and then zoomed in on her 


Next, Joshiie just came back after being gone a year and here is a close up of him.


The Carnival Ship had taken off before us and you can hardly see her in the middle of this picture and then the close up



I really like the close ups of the characters at sailaway





And then the US Coast Guard escorting us out. 


 
Alen is our Food and Beverage Manager, so good to see him again! A lot of the crew and officers have moved from one ship to another.


Natalie is our cruise director!

Had a great time.  First time experiencing the Inside vitual porthole.  Pretty good view of the outside.  Almost makes me think I am in an oceanview room.

I am sailing with friends and there are a total of 9 of us.  I have a friend in the cast who I promised I would watch perform during this contract.  He was able to meet us during dinner a couple of nights  and got to spend some time with us.  Also got to take him to dinner in Palo along with another main stage performer.

I figured I need to de-stress from the last month and cruise before the vacation starts.  Oh and I had a hot stone massage before Palo Brunch!  Heaven!  

In Tortola I did zip lining.  Here are a few pictures of the Fantasy from the zipline:



And the lizard:



I am very pleased with the zoomed in pictures in auto mode.  So I think I have made a good choice and this will replace my Canon Rebel this year with my picture taking.

I am now home for the next five days and will head to London on Thursday afternoon.  Can't wait for our British Adventure to begin!



Friday, May 20, 2016

Heading Out in 12 days!

So I decided it is time to set up my blog for this upcoming European vacation.  This year I will be heading off to London, England, on June 2nd.  Will be getting on the Disney Magic on June 5th for its' inaugural cruise to the British Isles with my cruising buddies.

 Pete, Faith, Mickey, Elaine and me.  Will miss Elaine not travelling with us this year!


Me and Maroly!  Love that girl.  She can't wait for me to bring her twizzlers!



Me and Michael.  I need to find my Frozen scarf that Michael made us last year.




We will also be joined by other friends on this cruise who we have travelled with many times before.  It will be another "trip of a lifetime."


Next, my daughter, Jamie and her husband, Q, will be joining me on June 17th for the 12 night Norway and Iceland cruise.  This is Q's college graduation present.  They will be moving after the cruise from Utah to North Carolina to attend the University of North Carolina for his master's program, and probably his doctorate after that.  I bought them some souvenirs last year in Norway and Iceland so here they are showing off their latest fashions.  Hopefully, they will remember to pack the hats and scarfs, it was cold in Norway and Iceland last year.


Once I start travelling, I will attempt to update my blog daily, usually late in the evening, but sometimes there is a delay if the satellite service on the ship doesn't cooperate for the internet.  Last year, once we got into Norway and Iceland, service was spotty.