Coral Princess News

Aloha Everyone,

There are numerous websites offering free information on Coral Princess including the latest news and updates about the itinerary.

One of the more interesting sites supposedly written and posted by third party giving you unbiased views. 

Our departure date to go on the back-to-back cruises through the Panama Canal is only a couple of days away. AI is not only tracking how often we visited the Coral Princess site but also information on our subsequent cruise to Puerto Rico. 

It seems there were outbreaks of some sort of viral infections. J.J. cautioned me that we might have to wear masks and required to wash our hands before going to the dining room.

Aloha -- Cathi

Catching Up with Our Friends

Aloha Everyone,

Wonderful phone visit with my dear friend JF in Hawaii. We talked about multiple topics including our upcoming health checkups.

I am gratified to hear that JF loves my travel blogs especially because of the current state of world affairs, it might be a while before we can visit some of these places again. 

Food is another blog posts JF enjoys although since we’ve been back in California, our meals have been mostly takeout box meals of Japanese or Chinese cuisine.

Aloha -- Cathi

Empress Szechuan Seafood Restaurant

Aloha Everyone,

The restaurant opens at 11:30 am. By the time we arrived, cars were already occupying the spacious parking lot.  Chinese restaurants typically focus on serving good food but no frills. My sister parked her car adjacent to where J.J. parked. When we walked inside, we got one of the last booths.

J.J. is connoisseur of Chinese dim sum. Menu isn’t necessary. He checked items off the order list including custard and buci filled with dark brown beans paste.

Aloha -- Cathi

Appointment at Wells Fargo Bank

Aloha Everyone,

For our 9:30 am appointment at WFB, we were 20 minutes early. The bank officer was delayed with her previous meeting. J.J. utilized the time to get small bills for porters and luggage handlers.

Our meeting lasted about two hours. By the time we stepped out of the bank, it was already lunchtime. We stopped by at Mitsuwa to purchase our takeout food for the next 6 meals.

Aloha -- Cathi

Visiting Our Family in La Jolla

Aloha Everyone,

It was absolutely wonderful seeing our family. We all appreciated delicious and healthy tofu, veggies with ground turkey curry. Lots of fresh salads, fruits and dark chocolate.

Three hours passed quickly. Exchange of hugs and more souvenir photos. Feeling happy and blessed, the unexpected traffic congestion caused by an accident and Sunday afternoon traffic jams on the freeway didn’t bother us.

Aloha -- Cathi

National Park Passes for Seniors

Aloha Everyone,

This is the best government program ever for seniors. We first applied when we started to travel with Honu. The cost was $10 for each of us and the magic word is that it would be good for our lifetime. 

Since then, the price has been raised.

Our passes are grandfathered. However, we have to have them upgraded to include our current information. 

With AI technology our data will become increasingly accessible.

Aloha -- Cathi

Tokyo Central Specialty Market

Aloha Everyone,

This new mega supermarket occupies space where Best Buy was located on Pacific Coast Highway in Torrance. 

J.J. and I spent about 40 minutes familiarizing ourselves. Overall available interior space is large but the placements of ready-made and fresh produce, Japanese cosmetics, kitchen appliances and even t-shirts and other clothes are random and confusing. My sister had mentioned to us that one can also find hot prepared foods which you can box yourself.

The two of us purchased sufficient food for 8 meals including Daifuku Japanese rice cake treats.

Aloha -- Cathi

Medical Appointment with OPTUM

Aloha Everyone,

The two is us first had to choose a new Primary Care Physician. The receptionist then made appointments for us in May. Prior to that we have to have lab work done. As always, our schedules are tight, but we are optimistic we get them accomplished.

Our Enterprise Rental Car for these two weeks is a SUV with Tennessee license. Because it rides higher than normal sedan, I have challenges climbing in and out of the vehicle.

Aloha -- Cathi

Problems with Parking Near TESLA

Aloha Everyone,

There was a Tesla parked at the Trader Joe’s parking lot. J.J. read that people are so mad about seeing Teslas. They try to vandalize by spraying paint. The others are replacing their Tesla logo with Toyota, Nissan or KIA.

I asked J.J. to avoid parking next to a Tesla so we don’t get into any situation.

Aloha -- Cathi

Getting Mexican Pesos for ur Cruises

Aloha Everyone,

Second time is not necessarily a charm. We had a new teller in training who had to consult an experienced bank teller. For just a little over US$200 required minimum foreign currency exchange, we had to have two visits to our bank. Confusing that there were four customer service representatives eager to assist us, but each with limited jurisdictions.  

At a branch located within a supermarket in La Jolla, a single individual used to handle and answer your questions competently. All this preparation maybe a moot point. 

The latest news of US retaking over the Panama Canal could impact our relaxing 32-days back-to-back cruising from San Pedro, CA through the Panama Canal to Fort Lauderdale, and back. Trump wants military contingency planning for a possible hostile takeover.

Received a family update from friends who reside in Baltimore, Maryland. Aside from their news on children and grandchildren, an upcoming 6-days cruise to the Bahamas is their big news. The four of us met on a cruise nearly 10 years ago. Ours is a friendship made on a cruise ship.

Aloha -- Cathi

Flight Back to California

Aloha Everyone,

Twelve hours direct flight sounds doable but in reality, you have to leave the hotel to get to the airport 5 hours prior to departure.

Getting wheelchairs to help us navigate the confusing departure process including Philippines immigration and customs. 

We had 2 hours to relax at the airport lounge before going through more checkpoints. I might have dozed off on the aircraft after declining the constant food that were offered to us.

Back to Extended Stay America. Our room wasn’t ready, so we walked to Urban Table, a vegan restaurant to get a healthy meal.

Aloha -- Cathi

Pre-Departure Day

Aloha Everyone,

We finished packing our two suitcases and had a relaxing breakfast. One of our dining room servers offered to take our souvenir photos. 

To commemorate our final dinner in Makati, we returned to Paradise Dynasty Restaurant to enjoy a light meal before our flight the next day.

Aloha -- Cathi

Oliver Stone’s Film, Alexander

Aloha Everyone,

This is a 2004 epic historical drama film based on the life of the ancient Macedonian general and king, Alexander the Great.

The film was a commercial failure. What piqued my interest to start watching the film was because of two lead actors, Angelina Jolie and Anthony Hopkins who are known to be serious actors.

About 30 minutes into the movie, J.J. and I stopped watching because of excessive cruelty and violence.

Aloha -- Cathi

Lunch with Detsy

Aloha Everyone,

In observation of Ash Wednesday, J.J. ordered 80% vegetarian dishes. We ate and caught up with her family news.

Detsy’s daughter and son-in-law are scheduled to visit Manila with their “burrito twins” in June. Detsy was bubbly as she showed us their newest photographs including a couple of videos.

I mentioned to her that people love volunteering to babysit especially at this age when they can roll around but not yet walking.

J.J. and I hope to see them either in Sydney or in the Philippines.

Aloha -- Cathi

Hair & Nail Salon Appointments

Aloha Everyone,

Our last appointment for our haircuts was 3 weeks ago. Nick was surprised how quickly our hair grew.

We spent the next few hours pampered by 4 professionals who were there to serve us. A man was reclining in a sofa getting his face shaved, legs massaged, hair trimmed and colored, plus nails done. With my color by the time we finished, it was passed our lunch and siesta time. Nick was extremely happy with the results. He especially liked the organic color imported from Germany with no odor and no irritation to my scalp.

We paid $100 including the cost of services plus generous tips to 4 operators. They asked when we are coming back.

Aloha -- Cathi

Celebrating Girls Day!

Aloha Everyone,

Sugi was our choice for Girls Day lunch. J.J.’s plate was pretty much the same as our prior lunch there. I still loved Zarusoba. On this occasion, I added a couple of pieces of tempura shrimps on the side.

For dinner, we went to Fely J for our regular favorite meal. The only difference is the two of us shared HaloHalo for dessert. Sweet ending for Girls Day 2025 in the Philippines.

Aloha -- Cathi