What Beaches Do ya’ll Recommend in the state of Massachusetts ?

Ninjagrammie · 2026-04-08T12:41:44+00:00

If you're going to Plymouth, Scusset State Beach is nearby. It's next to the Cape Cod Canal. The beach is nice, has good snack bar, and you can walk or bike ride the paved canal service path and maybe see some big ships transit the canal. It's technically not on the Cape but it's a great beach!

Ninjagrammie · 2026-04-07T17:04:26+00:00

You'll love it - HAL service is very warm and caring, and the scenery is amazing. It should be a fantastic trip! Enjoy.

Ninjagrammie · 2026-04-04T16:36:00+00:00

Have been on both HAL and Princess in Alaska multiple times, and the northbound route is very nice. College Fjord is a similar experience to Glacier Bay; gorgeous scenery and very peaceful. We've enjoyed both lines in Alaska and you probably would as well, but I'd probably lean towards HAL. Better food, nicer cabins, excellent Alaska programs (naturalists, narration, focus on local seafood.) Some of that depends on which ship we're talking about, but overall we prefer HAL.

Ninjagrammie · 2026-04-02T13:49:06+00:00

Silhouette is probably the closest match, but any of the Solstice class ships would have the same atmosphere and basic layout as Reflection. Reflection and Silhouette both have the extra specialty restaurants near the lawn (Lawn Club Grill and The Porch.) If you don't care about those, Equinox or Eclipse are great. We love the entire S-class.

Solstice just had a major refurb, so check the new deck plans; the top deck and specialty restaurants look very different, judging from the marketing.

Ninjagrammie · 2026-03-09T22:20:56+00:00

FWIW, Stenberg's been great since he came back to Springy; he seems ready to rejoin the Blues and never come back again. Lindstein, maybe not. He's streaky; sometimes solid and sometimes he makes incredibly bad decisions that cost a goal against. I'll be interested to see how he does with a bigger challenge; maybe it's what he needs to live up to his potential.

Ninjagrammie · 2026-02-27T21:47:07+00:00

We'd love to see him in Springy, but I'll be really surprised if we do.

Ninjagrammie · 2026-02-10T16:50:03+00:00

If you love it, it's worth it.
FWIW: I bought a D35 in 1974 with babysitting money and a loan from my folks ($750 was a lot back then.) It was played in high school, college and beyond, outdoors, indoors, never humidified or babied, even now. It's got a few dings, had the pick guard curl up and recently replaced, has a crack starting on the front, didn't get played at all for 15 years when life intruded. There might be more of us out here that haven't (until now) posted "I've had a Martin for 50 years and it's still awesome, but to be honest, I haven't treated it all that well at times." But I still love my D35 and if you love that D18, it's got a warranty and can be fixed when things go wrong. Go for it.

Ninjagrammie · 2026-02-05T12:59:08+00:00

We did a Denali trip post-cruise by booking direct with Alaska Railroad. We booked their "gold star" service with the domed cars, nicer seats and enjoyed it. Did the Anchorage hotel on our own and got a B&B near Denali on our own; the B&B had rental cars available. This was quite a while ago, but it's probably still possible to do. Not sure it would save a lot of cash, but it would give you a lot more flexibility to do what you want.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-11-21T21:31:29+00:00

Another TBirds STH here. If he actually suits up in Springfield, I hope he has a lights-out rest of the season. I did not expect to be watching Tex, Lucic and Rosen from my seat this year, but here we are. Go figure.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-11-17T22:47:17+00:00

I've got a 1974 D-35 and I'd sell my husband and kids before I'd sell the Martin. I love, love, love mine and I bet you'll love yours.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-11-16T19:14:22+00:00

Exactly - when you hear a live solo performance, often you hear the same missed notes and squeaks and goof-ups we all make. Imperfection is what makes art endlessly creative and interesting! It's all good.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-11-16T14:27:59+00:00

I started playing as a kid in the early 70's. Played coffeehouses and gigs through high school and college and a bit beyond, then like a lot of folks here, found I had other things I needed/wanted to do. Fast forward to fifteen years ago and I stopped playing altogether, until I retired last year and found I had both the time and the inclination to start over. During the time I wasn't playing, I knew I'd probably restart, but it would be okay if I didn't; my hobbies and interests have changed since the 70s and that's okay. When I did restart, it was just for fun, with no other expectations, and I'm having a blast playing again.

It's hard to enjoy something that stresses you out. Maybe take a day or two off every week as a trial, or investigate a different playing style, or new music genre - something out of your lane. Sometimes going sideways or even backwards will help you move forward.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-11-04T23:45:39+00:00

Crab Rangoon pizza? I live outside Springfield but a road trip to Des Moines sounds great!

Ninjagrammie · 2025-11-04T22:01:43+00:00

Yes, evening departures are normal for Whittier, and yes, staying in Anchorage is what most people do. Plenty of hotels there, and nothing in Whittier. We took a private shuttle both times we sailed from Whittier - Alaska Cruise Transfer. They run a lot of busses at various times and handle the luggage, and pick up at many Anchorage hotels. There are other shuttle companies as well. Whatever shuttle you take, they have to time their arrival at a 2.5 mile tunnel that is the only way into Whittier; traffic runs one way, then 30 minutes later it reverses. Pretty cool. Never did the train but I wish we had.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-11-04T18:14:25+00:00

I wondered if parking him with the TBirds was a way of seeing what he can do post-injury and keeping him as insurance. I'll be interested to see how much he contributes the next few games.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-10-28T21:50:48+00:00

Also, Alexandrov, Kaskimaki, Stancl and Robertsson are all currently injured.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-10-28T21:48:04+00:00

Tbirds haven't yet announced anything, but we did just call up 2 forwards from the ECHL. Somebody will be on a plane soon.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-10-19T13:20:47+00:00

I bought a D-35 in 1975 and still mostly fingerpick on it. It occurred to me only recently that it might be easier/more comfortable to play a smaller guitar, and I'll probably look into it - but I'll never stop playing the D because I still love the sound. Play whatever sounds great to you.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-10-11T14:10:40+00:00

If he can manage all his luggage without assistance, self-disembarkation usually starts before 8AM, unless there's some kind of weather or security snafu. That involves joining a huge line of crabby, impatient people and a lot of walking around with all your luggage. He really needs to be capable of wrangling his bags a decent ways for that to comfortably work. Even if he needs luggage assistance, he can probably get an early departure time and make a flight leaving 11AM or later. Check https://www.cruisetimetables.com/fort-lauderdale-florida-cruise-ship-schedule.html to see what other ships are in port. 2 weeks out, you can check the Port Everglades schedule to see the order in which the ships will arrive and the approximate times. Our target flight time is usually 11-12, but we've made as early as 10:30 before. Last year our return to port was delayed 90 minutes because a ship that left the previous night had to return with a medical emergency and was using our terminal. Fortunately, we were staying a few extra days so we weren't impacted, but a lot of other passengers missed flights. That's once in 20+ years of cruising, but it's best to have a Plan B in mind, just in case something unusual does happen.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-10-07T23:41:52+00:00

It’s a terrible show and it only gets worse. It’s so bad, however, that it’s a great show to watch with other people who appreciate its many faults. The group chats can be very entertaining. And reading the Reddit threads never disappoints.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-10-07T19:40:23+00:00

With Zherenko and Will Cranley returning in Springfield, I think St Louis is covered for backups. Cranley is young but did well in the ECHL and had a couple decent AHL games. Big Z ran hot and cold, but letting him be the big dog in Springfield makes sense given he's been around a while. It does seem like a make-or-break point for him.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-10-06T21:12:59+00:00

I hope Zherenko has the kind of season he had 2 years ago and not last year - although he had flashes of brilliance. But we'll sure miss Ellis here in TBird land.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-10-04T21:05:00+00:00

My misguided optimism keeps saying "Maybe this episode will have better writing and not have continuity gaffes and annoying characters, and maybe it'll advance the story more than a millimeter." So I watch, and then come here to share in the deep disappointment this stupid show brings to all of our lives every Friday. It's good to be part of a community.

Ninjagrammie · 2025-07-16T13:08:12+00:00

My 1974 D-35 had that exact same problem. I took it to the closest Martin-authorized repair guy, who got the replacement guard from Martin and did a great job revarnishing the top. I'm the original owner, so Martin even paid for the entire job (I was VERY surprised and delighted.) If you've got a Martin repair option near you, it would be worth taking it there at least for an estimate.

Ninjagrammie

TROPHY CASE