March 19, 2026

Lucia's 15th Birthday Party - Bowling Fun in Tassie!

This fun loving crew got together to celebrate Lucia 's Birthday at a local bowling alley in the Moonah neighborhood of Hobart. For a Tuesday night, the place was hopping - every alley had players! We took turns playing with two lanes and 12 players. Some of us showed more skill than others,  BUT All of us had lots of FUN! Especially, our sweet Birthday girl !!


The gang (L to R) is Dad Doug, Me, Tanya ( visiting Aunt of the tall 18 year old Zenzo, next to her), Aliona (sixteen year old sister of Lucia), Zenzo (who is also Lucia's boyfriend of one year), Terry, equally tall James, JR, Susan, Delia, Bosco, Jill ( visiting friend of Whit) and Whitney (Mom of 2 teenage girls), the party organizer! (Missing from the photo is the brothers Trembaly Paul & Ron.)

The fun night capped off with a stop in Chinatown for me and Bosco and a big bowl of Wonton Soup each, before returning on board.

By Pat Patrick June 11, 2026
Shopping is huge in Manila - there are sooo many malls! Probably because it is so stinky hot! The air condition draws you in, plus the malls have everything - giant Hyper supermarkets, movies, entertainment venues, sport complexes, spas & medical services, tons of restaurants and every retailer you can imagine. SH Mall of Asia is the 5th largest Mall in the World! I went here 2 different days, first with the ladies- Anna Sherrie & Sarah. Then back the next day with Terri, mainly because I was now familiar with the layout, and could move faster and get what I needed quickly.
By Pat Patrick June 11, 2026
Metro Manila is a massive urban jungle with a population of between 18 to 20 Million. Makati City, specifically the the neighborhood of Poblacion and P. Burgos Street is the heart of night life scene, this red light district is heavily concentrated with bars, pubs and go-go venues. I saw a Get your Guide VIP tour of some of the best clubs offered and Bosco and I, decided to check it out. When we arrived at the first venue, we found five other shipmates! We run into ship people everywhere! It's kinda nice, The Community is what we love about this lifestyle!
By Pat Patrick June 8, 2026
The Intramuros section of Manila, Philippines is the historic walled core, of this Capital City. Today, the surrounding stone walls are ringed by a golf course, in lieu of the moat from long ago. Below shows comparison from rendering 300 years ago, under Spanish Colonization to Today. Many of the historic buildings, churches, fort and prison remain. Kimberly and I walked it for over 4 hours, and we saw maybe a quarter of it. We sadly gave up due to the heat, humidity and our exhausted feet and missed the Corpus Christi procession to the Manila Cathedral with the Bishop, by just a half hour! If only we had known ahead of time!