15 CRAIGSIDE VERSUS SEABOURN ODYSSEY

Long live King Charles III. Here are some photos from Time. Jill Biden and granddaughter Finnegan.

Prince William and Princess of Wales Catherine, with Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte.

Prince Harry was there.

King Charles III being crowned.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla from the Buckingham Place balcony.

There were some unhappy people protesting the coronation, led by an anti-monarchy group, for this event is expected to cost taxpayers $125 million. One of Boris Johnson's protests featured a 350 million pound banknote. Here is only a one million pound note of King Charles III.

On Monday I already gave the Seabourn Odyssey pluses and minuses, mostly good. Yesterday I began the case for 15 Craigside, where we live. Today I add more and then compare the two.

On the Odyssey I was afraid to use their wellness center for fear of the outbreak. I checked, and 15 Craigside today has no covid cases. I use that recumbent elliptical cross trainer to the left and cable strength machine to the right. I'm too old for the treadmill.

I might add that among the activities at 15 Craigside are a dozen wellness classes each week, and a host of other attractions.

Pacific Taiko performance.

May Day program.

The staff and fine service on the Seabourn Odyssey are about as good as it gets, and the same can be said for 15 Craigside. The Seabourn food was spectacular, but we soon got tired of the caviar, escargots and foie gras. The same can be said for 15 Craigside, but the advantage is that many of the dishes are stuff we grew up on, plus I do a lot of enhancements to add variety.

For example, 15 Craigside provides the pork tofu. However, I quickly fry it in wagyu fat and add onions. Plus, o-toro sashimi, here with hot sake and cold Kirin beer. Seabourn cannot do this.

Kalua Pig and Cabbage, again with Wagyu Fat plus cut onions and more cabbage, with mac salad, soybeans and hamachi sashimi.

I felt like going fundamental Japanese, so had hot rice topped with butter, ikura (salmon eggs) and natto (a good probiotic), with tsukemono, sashimi, miso soup, hot sake and cold Sapporo beer.

Even the spaghetti is enchanced, with sliced garlic in butter, large salad, beer and a Dutton-Goldfield Pinot Noir from Stanford.

Yesterday I mentioned Cinco de Mayo. Here are those photos, plus the Boy's Day Strawberry Mochi and Takoyaki.

Here is our menu for Mother's Day, next week.

One additional eating option at 15 Craigside is that you also have a pick on Honolulu restaurants. On the Odyssey you hesitate eating in port cities because the food is free on the ship. No such restraint at home. Yesterday we went out for pork tonkatsu.

While I have tried to compare 15 Craigside with the Seabourn Odyssey, that is not the point. The beauty of having both experiences is that they complement each other. 15 Craigside is a secure and comfortable environment with decent cuisine and a lot of activities. I do very little, but enjoy the freedom to do so. A cruise opens up the world to opportunities not available in Nuuanu and Hawaii. Now on to the rest of my life.

ON THE MATTER OF PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Hawaii today celebrates King Kamehameha the First Day as a public holiday. Next Monday, June 19, or Juneteenth, is a Federal holiday. However, 22 states, including Hawaii, do not recognize this as a public holiday. Four of these will begin to honor this day next year, not Hawaii. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery. Here are the Hawaii holidays, and note three that only we have: New Year’s Day: 1st day in January Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: 3rd Monday in January Presidents’ Day: 3rd Monday in February Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day: 26th day in March Good Friday: Friday before Easter Easter: Calculating Easter Memorial Day: Last Monday in May King Kamehameha I Day: 11th day in June Independence Day: 4th day in July Statehood Day: 3rd Friday in August Labor Day: 1st Monday in September Veterans’ Day: 11th day in November Thanksgiving Day: 4th Thursday in November Christmas: 25th day in December There are 11 paid Fede...

THE ENIGMATIC PHIL SPECTOR

The first presidential debate of Donald Trump and Joe Biden ended up in a near tie. Both lost. However, it was an unmitigated disaster for Biden, who just might be too old to win this re-election. For Trump, it was a reinforcement of what he does all the the time, lie. There will be significant calls for the Democratic Party to work out "something" to replace Biden as their presidential candidate. Suddenly, Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom and Michelle Obama are added to the spotlight. But what can "legally" occur at the August Democratic Convention? The situation is different on the Republican side, as Trump is the Republican Party, and no matter if he gets 4 years at his felony sentencing on July 9, or even if the Supreme Court determines he is not immune next week or later, he will be the presidential candidate. Trump is a damned boastful liar and convicted felon, but that is the only option for Republicans. His vice-presidential choice now become...

THE NEXT TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE

There are 4 types of solar eclipse. Total Partial Annular Hybrid About the above graphic. On the left is a total solar eclipse. In middle is an annular solar eclipse. A hybrid eclipse appears as either a total or an annular eclipse depending on the observers location. These only occur once in a decade. A partial eclipse is to the right. A total solar eclipse occurs about every 18 months. However a specific location will see a total eclipse only once every 375 years. So if you recently saw one, you'll need to travel to see another. My wife was born on July 11. She found out that there would be total eclipse over her Big Island on that day in 1991, so off we flew to Kailua-Kona and stayed at the King Kamehameha Hotel. Turned out that if we had just watched from the hotel beach, we would have had the best view. But we had a friend who lived high up on Mauna Loa, so off we went to join him. But it was so clo...

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