Maria, so happy you're going to be staying on for the whole thing ---Pooch it is!! (Eek, now I'll have to remember how to keep score?????? Maybe I'll have a consultation with Ngaire while we're on PANDA.)

Maria!
:banana: :woh: :woh: :woh:

OHHHHHH lucky Maria!!!!!!!! I am so happy for you...you have such great cruise buddies - :ch: :ch: :ch: :ch: we tried but not working for us now -

Thanks Denise ( you'll have me as your almost neighbor for 16 days!!) and Peggy, Pooch here I come!

Thanks Joanna,

You were one of the reasons I tried! But I understand... Hopefully soon!!!

Maria :hug: :hug: Pooch is great - I hate cards but loved this game - EZ which is important to me - seamail please! I will miss you all very much

You and Tony will be missed too, sweet Joanna! :hug:

Maria, You know how I've been pulling for you and Bob to do the entire CROSSing with us. We've been penpals for a few years. Can't wait to be neighbors! :hug:

They will be missed indeed!

Denise, You never gave up. I think you had more faith in it hapenning that myself! ;)

Denise never gives up - why she is so uniquely Denise :app:

Maria that is great you will be on the TA part of CROSS, so we can meet! :banana:

Thanks Sue!

I'm sure there is space for you! Great, I won't be the only beginner! :)

Hey all - just got back from a "mini cruise" on our friends boat in the Chesapeake. Got us all primed for CROSS.

We, or for sure me, want to learn pooch too, so add us to the list Peggy.

Joanna - :mecry: :mecry: :mecry: Sorry it isn't working, know you tried, you will be missed.

Maria - Whhooohhhhoooo is right!!! More time for <img src="http://smileys.sm...3Fi%253D7%252F7_4_33/image.gif"> and all those other activities.

Shirley - welcome to LCT, glad you found us. Yes, lets definitely plan to meet for a drink at the Four Seasons. We get there on Thursday, and I think you do too. Lets plan for Thursday evening, will work the details closer in, but hotel bar sounds like a good start. BTW I too grew up in SoCal, Manhattan Beach, so your sister lives right up the road/hill from where we did. Lots to talk about.

Denise - where is the updated "roll call"?

Duh ---- never mind just found it!!! LOL on me guys!! <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" />

Hi JoAnn,

Thanks for the welcome. Kept hearing about the "other board" had no idea what it was but stumbled on it accidently. Sure glad I did. Sandy & I grew up an went to school in Torrance. I moved around, Sandy stayed around. Her daughter & family have a beach home in Manhattan Beach, live in Santa Barbara. Yeah, lots to talk about.

Would someone care to enlighten me about "Pooch"? All I can gather is it is a card game. Has anyone ever played Mexican Train? Fun!

Yes, we arrive the same day as you at the Four Seasons. If everythig goes on schedule, we should get there late afternoon. Our flight arrives in Nice at 2:15 p.m. YIPPEE SKIPPEE!!!!

We're card players too - I've heard of Mexican Train. Pooch is an LCT version of a group card game that's taken the cruisers here by storm.

Shirley - you might be on our flights out of LAX - which airlines are you flying? I'm an LA Native having grown up on the West Side/Santa Monica/Beverly Hills. We live in Westlake Village now - and we go regularly to Santa Barbara to visit DH's daughter who stayed after college at UCSB.

We are on Lufthansa on 10/31 3:30 p.m. to Frankfurt.

Interesting, I was involved in a real estate transaction with a Dr. Nelson who heads the Nelson Spine Institute which I think is in Westlake Village. I know they live there. They purchased a 2nd home here in San Diego at Mission Beach. Super nice people, I enjoyed them.

Yeah, Sandy's daughter & family live in Montecito so she and I go up there frequently to visit. Such a gorgeous area.

It's going to be such fun meeting all you guys.
Wish I could figure out how to post a picture, I've done it on some other sites, just can't figure this one out. I have pics on computer.
Oh well. <img border="0" alt="[bang]" title="" src="graemlins/banghead.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[bang]" title="" src="graemlins/banghead.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[bang]" title="" src="graemlins/banghead.gif" />

We'll just miss you then - same day and almost time, but, we are on Air France to CDG and then on to Nice. Yes, Montecito is very special. We have some friends and clients there as well.

Yea, Maria! As you know, I'm thrilled with your news.

Shirley, a belated welcome from me. We'll have a great time on CROSS. By the way, I grew up in Kansas, so I know what a crick is too! And, I know how to play Mexican Train. Good times ahead!

Thanks, Pricilla. Gosh, where in Kansas? I'm from Topeka - quite a few moons ago, however.

Count us in for the POOCH lessons, please.

Shirley, We love Santa Barbara/Montecito and visit quite frequently. We've often discussed moving there - If only home prices in that beautiful area would plummet! Yeah, right!

Denise, maybe, just maybe, you might be in luck.
I was talking to my niece just the other day and she said the "slow" real estate market was finally reaching that area. It would have to do something pretty drastic for me to be able to afford it. It's getting really really slow here in San Diego. I'm a realtor.

The slow market would have to really take a nosedive for us to be able to afford Santa Barbara/Montecito. But, we can dream for now!

Our area in OC seems to be holding it's own, for now.

Ditto Denise!

Both daughters graduated from UCSB so we had 8 years of visiting the Santa Barbara area often and we love it! Greystuff, I too was a Realtor for 25 years (now pretty much retired). Thank goodness OC is holding it's own better than most areas.

Actually, while sales volume is down the pricing isn't down. Home prices in Ventura County/Santa Barbara County are pretty stable and for the right homes here prices are even up. Having spent 20+ years in RE Finance and as a Bank VP before opening my own Financial Consulting/Accounting business 18 years ago, I stay very in the loop with what happens in the market place.

Yes, very true for a lot of areas. S.D. County seems to be getting hit pretty hard. Prices are down, as of this morning's statistics, about 7.5%. This seems to be affecting the mid-price range homes the most though. It will shake itself out though, it's pretty much a 10 year, or so, cycle we go through.

- you all live in such a neat part of the country - NO humidity as we die with it right now in FL - Shirley you are going to have great trip - give Denise, Priscilla, JoAnn, Sue, Peggy and Maria a big hug from me - I'll rely on you and Marcie for the real estate advice in SCA

I agree, Joanna, about our California friends' area of the country. We really fell for Santa Barbara and Montecito the one time we visited there. Beautiful, as is so much of California.

And Joanna, I'll match Dallas humidity for Florida humidity right now. Surely you couldn't have any worse than here the past few weeks. If so, you have my sympathies!

Shirley, I grew up in a little town between McPherson and Newton named Moundridge (pop. about 1,200). As a city girl from Topeka, you probably never heard of it! My mother lived in Topeka and went to Washburn though.

Priscilla not sure but one of the most awful summers we have ever had - I guess you deal with it as we have for many yrs but I'd love to be on NC lake right now

Johanna, We are dying here of the humidity! We've had the leavings of Hurricane Dean coming up as tropical moisture from Mexico. Sunday we had lightning, thunder, rain, flash floods, YIKES!! Okay, so it's probably not as bad as Florida, but why am I drippng wet? Went for my 3 miler this mornig and came back soaked.

Looks like we're all in the same boat -- soaked with humidity. I feel like a mess all the time!

Our a/c running constantly - I am sweating running errands - Shirley a 3 miler? in your car I hope -

Shirley,

We, too, are experiencing higher than usual humidity. Plus, it's HOT! I'm in an air conditioned office all day. By the time I leave at 5:00PM my car is cookin'!

Drizzle for us on Sunday morning. Not enough to water much of anything, but it sure made our cars a spotty mess!

It is CRAZY how hot it is here - still 98 degrees at 11pm, and no breeze. We had Dean remnants like Greytstuff - a lightning rod here & there visible in the mountains - but no rain. But oh so HUMID. When we get 40% humidity along with 110 degree temps...we SWEAT!

Along those lines, we are headed to San Diego for Labor Day weekend to cool off, catch a Padres game and chill with our friends! :)

Unfortunately, no relief today.

Enjoy your trip to San Diego, Kristin. Don't forget to pack your parkas!

:)

Kristin, you might cool off a little in S.D. this weekend but it's supposed to be really hot here also. However, I imagine a lot of L.A. & O.C. will come down the coast to S.D. Oh, the traffic!

No, Johanna, I don't "drive" 3 miles every morning, I am walking the streets :banana: by 6 a.m. I'm referred to in the neighborhood as "the little white lady with the big black dog". My "main man" is a 90 lb. black greyhound. Stay safe all.

Thanks, Denise & Shirley - weather.com is saying mid-80s which will feel GREAT, especially with those wonderful ocean breezes. I love to visit SD, we should do it more often - it's less than 2 hours away!

It's 108 here now....I need a cabana boy with a palm leaf fan and mister about now.

108!!!!! I'm :mecry: for you. I be bitch'in no mo!

OMG, reading all this, I feel like we have winter temps here! It's 70 right now and it was low 80's today. Last week it wasn't higher that the 60's!! But beleive me, I know what humidity is , I grew up in the tropics. However, nothing like the Florida humidity ( sorry Joanna!!).

One of the kids called this morning - 65 this AM in Watermill (LI) - I said don't rub it in - so hot here you can't stand it -