March 18, 2026

Fellow Residents, Chris aka Zeus & Laura aka Hera, pictured below love a good Murder Mystery night. They go all out and this one had 120 passengers, the Captain, Hotel Manager and several other Crew and the entertainment staff participating, in this ship wide event.  We were all given roles, and togas with Greek or Roman roles.  Many of the Gods and Goddess had major roles while many others, just played along.

Bosco loves a good role play event and he was given the part of Leto, the mistress of Zeus who bore him his twins Apollo and Artemis. Bosco committed to the role and shaved his beard off to play Leto. Mimi, the daughter of Kim & Phil who is a theatrical makeup artist, just happened to be visiting and she did his makeup. So many people had no idea who he was! Luckily he escaped the murders that claimed the lives of his 2 children! 

Here are some of my other favorite characters of the night!

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We broke into 5 teams to compete and try and solve the murders. I was suppose to be part of the green team, but had my wrist band on backwards and thought I was with the silver group, for the first hour of play!! We had a scavenger hunt all over the ship looking for clues. Some really got into their roles - it was a fun way to pass a sea day !

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Can you spot me? I was Aletheia, the Greek Goddess of Truth

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XI'AN, CHINA - WALLED CITY

By Pat Patrick • September 15, 2026
Xi'An, China has been on my must do list , for awhile. The story of the Terracotta Army has fascinated me, since I first heard it. What I didn't know too much about, was the actual City of Xi'An and the walled inner City that remains today. It was built from 1370 to 1378 during the Ming dynasty on top of the older Tang dynasty foundations. There are 9 miles of City walls, they are 39' high, 45' to 50' wide at the top and 55' to 60' at the base. There are four main gate towers and the only draw bridge restored is at the South Gate. There are 98 ramparts, watchtowers, battlements and a wide surrounding moat. It one of the oldest and best preserved fortifications in China .

MORE CHONGQING & Strange Signs

By Pat Patrick • September 14, 2026
After our Panda watching we went to Erling Park for some good city views. Green space in Chongqing is rare, it is truly a concrete jungle with a few planters and trees smattered in along the sidewalks.

CHONGQING ZOO - PANDAS

By Pat Patrick • September 14, 2026
The 21 Pandas at the Chongqing Zoo is t he largest grouping of them of anywhere we have traveled in China. We were all excited to see them and were up and on the road by 7am. They are super popular and morning is the supposedly the best time to see them active. It was another hot and steamy day, but less brutal than yesterday.