CRUISE CONNECTION by LIDDY & SCOTT

Hello Everyone.  We are Scott and Liddy Paulsen, long time friends of Roger and Diana’s.  Scott and I met in college and moved to Newport Beach when we were first married.  Three children, nine grandchildren, and fifty years later we are still living in paradise.

Scott is a retired middle school principal and I was a “Newport Beach house wife” and later worked as a project manager for a company that sold products to schools.  Scott is the past president of the Friends of OASIS, now head of the travel office, and I am a volunteer at the welcome desk and in charge of decorating the center for various holidays. OASIS is an amazing active senior center in Newport complete with a library, dance room, fitness center, and travel office. The Friends own two sailboats that have been described as the most active pleasure boats in the harbor.  Scott is also very involved with the Newport Schools Foundation.  The Foundation provides direct grants to the teachers in our district.  We are on the Board of the Newport Beach Sister City Association, where I currently serve as President.  Our active Sister Cities are Okazaki, Japan and Antibes, France.  We have been to Okazaki several times and hosted delegations from the city.  I am trying to talk Scott into traveling with our delegation to Antibes to celebrate Bastille Day, take in the jazz festival and meet with friends we have made there. 

Roger and Scott were friends in high school and we met Diana at a planning meeting for one of their high school reunions.  The rest is history.  We have cruised with them to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, so we know that this cruise will be amazing.  If I can keep Scott out of the Casino, we too like to play cards.  We will definitely be in the cocktail lounge before dinner. We look forward to seeing long time friends and meeting new ones.
Thanks Roger, Diana and Alex for making all this happen.

Traveling With a Camera ...by John Working

John Working

Peggy & Rocky Alby

I do like to travel, taking either long or short trips; and when I travel I love to take my camera(s) and take pictures. It's fun; and when the trip is long past I can look back at all the pictures or bore friends with them all the time remembering the wonderful time we had. I have a friend who never takes pictures, or for that matter never brings a camera which makes me wonder how he remembers all of it. I've found pictures help me remember and many times remind me of a funny story or an unplanned adventure. So anyway, Diana asked me to share some travel photography pointers and while I'm certainly no expert I'll give it a go. 

When I travel I see many people using their cell phones as a camera. On our last trip I saw two people using their IPads and thought it seemed real awkward. I think I'd worry more about dropping the IPad then getting a good picture. If you are a member of Costco there is a  question about using one of the new smartphones rather than a camera in the December 2012 issue of "The Costco Connection" (page 15). Marc Saltzman, high tech reporter, answers it better than I could. For those of you not members he basically says the camera takes much better pictures because a camera manages the light better, has longer battery life, use optical zoom rather than digital zoom, meaning pictures are clearer when you zoom. Many of the new digital cameras allow uploading directly to websites or your computer using Wi-Fi. The newer cameras also allow for GPS "geotagging" to mark geographical information. A person I often travel with wondered why people spend all the money on the trip and then use their cell phone for pictures. I wonder that too because cameras are not really that expensive and they do not take up much room. 

Here are some things I do:

• When you get to your destination remember to check and set the time and date on the camera. And if you're traveling around like we will be check the time occasionally, making sure it reflects local time.  Every time you take a picture it is stamped with date and time and if you're like me and take many many pictures it really is helpful when organizing your pictures. You might also forget where a picture was taken, the correct date will help. 
• Be sure to bring along an extra memory card for the camera just in case something happens to the first or you end up taking more pictures. A memory card is where the camera stores the pictures and like a computer memory has limited storage. Pictures take up lots of memory. 
• If your camera allows consider organizing your pictures by date or a separate folder for each day. I did this the last two trips and it helps with organization when you get home. You could also keep a small diary to go along. 
• I usually bring my lap top and, when I have time copy the pictures off the memory card to the lap top doing some organizing and editing (deleting) as I go.   My pictures are then saved in two locations, the camera memory card and the lap top. If you cannot upload to Facebook from the camera you can off the computer and that's always fun. I notice Princess has WiFi Connection of sorts. 
• Be sure to keep your camera with your carry on. The scanners used for checked luggage can be stronger and possibly damage the camera, memory card or both. Plus checked bags get banged around, possibly damaging things inside. 
• Take as many pictures as you want because you can easily delete either on the trip or once back at home. This last trip my wife and I took 1.900 pictures!
• Don't forget to pack your camera battery charger and maybe an extra battery. 

So bring a "real" camera and take lots of pictures, you will not regret it! 

CRUISE CONNECTION by MICHELE & BOB

Hi, gang!  We are Bob Di Nunzio and Michele Lovenduski and will be joining you on what we hope will be a memorable journey filled with lots of laughter, great food (we love to eat), and a chance to experience a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with good friends.

Bob and I have been a couple for the past three years.  We met while I was taking a walk on Balboa Island.  To say our story is unusual is an understatement. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough time to share it right now, but meet us before dinner for drinks and we’ll regale you with all the details.  You won’t be disappointed.

Bob is a Real Estate Broker (semi-retired) with over 50 years in the business (and yes, he did start at 18 years of age.)  Surprise, his specialty area is Balboa Island. 

I worked for the City for nearly 25 years, splitting my years between Community Services and Public Works. I’m probably best known among my City colleagues for putting on “shows” at the City and making everybody sing…all the time! Once I retired I dove into Hollywood with both feet and began acting in television commercials.  I’ve even dragged Bob into the business.  He now has three commercials under his belt.

I met Diana and Roger while working for the City of Irvine in the Community Services Department.  When I think back to those days beginning in the mid 80’s I am blown away by the great times and truly ground breaking achievements we were responsible for.  

I knew Roger (swordmeister) and his lovely wife, Diana, were into travel, but I didn’t get “on board” until the Mediterranean cruise, where I also met our fabulous travel agent, Alex.  Marsha Burgess and I were roommates and we had a terrific time.  So when I got the email from Diana about the next big adventure to Asia, I was in…even though it was scheduled for three years out.

Bob and I made the decision to join the tour.  With such a great group of traveling companions, the trip can only be an awesome experience.  See you all in the cocktail lounge onboard the ship!  

P.S.  Good idea to start warming up those vocal chords in case we have to sing a few songs!