Whatever Wednesday – Page 2 – Circadianreflections Blog

Whatever Weds. Quantum of the Seas

August 27, 2025August 26, 2025Posted in Cruising, Photography, Travel and Tourism, Travel Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged "From Afar" by Lawrence Argent;, Alaska Cruise, Art, Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean, Ships, Waves of Light by So Sunny Park, Whatever Wednesday34 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

This week I’ll share some photos I made of the ship we sailed to Alaska on. She’s the largest Royal Caribbean ship we’ve sailed on.

She was built in 2014 and sails under the flag of Bahamas. At the time of her delivery she was the third largest cruise in the world by gross tonnage (168,666 GT). She’s 1,141 feet long (347.7 meters) and 236ft 3inches tall, (72 meters). Her top speed is 22.0 knots and will hold 4,180 passengers (double occupancy), and a maximum of 4,905 passengers, with a crew of 1,500.

On sea days we felt the 4,900+ people on board especially on the days the pool deck was closed due to heavy winds, and rain.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
The Bow of Quantum of the Seas

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Aft of Quantum of the Seas showing off her Climbing Wall a bit.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
This is Felicia the Big Magenta Polar Bear by artist Lawrence Argent. Titled ” From Afar”. She’s 30ft tall, is comprised of 1,340 stainless steel triangles, and weighs eight-tons.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
That arm with pod on the end is the North Star Observation Pod. It gives you a 360 degree panoramic view of the ports, ocean, and surroundings. We didn’t try it. We meant to on Port Days but, were so busy with excursions we never got the chance to.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
One of the Pools, hot tub, bar, and track on Deck 15

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Waves of Light by artist So Sunny Park

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
The Esplanade on Decks 4 and 5. Here you’ll find shopping, dining, entertainment, and socializing. We spent a lot of time on this deck.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Quantum of the Seas Orchestra on the theater stage on Deck 4.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Quantum of the Seas Lifebuoy on Deck 15

She’s a beautiful ship that we enjoyed a lot. We came off her ready for another cruise.

Have a lovely week everyone!

more to come…

Whatever Weds.-Alaska Cruise Pics

July 30, 2025July 31, 2025Posted in Photography, Travel and Tourism, Whatever WednesdayTagged Alaska Cruise, Cruise Ship, Photography, Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean, Seattle Skyline, Stateroom, Whatever Wednesday45 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Some of you may recall that He-Man and I took a Cruise to Alaska on board the Quantum of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean Ship earlier this month. I thought I’d start sharing our trip with photos of our stateroom .

We were sailing out of the Port of Seattle so we flew up a day before our cruise departed. We stayed in the north end of town in a Comfort Inn & Suites. The room and hotel were nice, the neighborhood…a little sketchy, but we felt safe enough to walk to the nearby stores and a restaurant for dinner. We just pulled our city street awareness spidy senses out of the archives and stayed alert while walking.

This was the view from our room of downtown Seattle, and Mt. Rainier way in the distance on the left just as the city lights were coming on for the evening.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

That parking lot is car dealer spare lot we think.

We took an Uber to the port after checking out of the hotel. Getting through security and checking in with Royal Caribbean was a breeze. Our stateroom wasn’t quite ready so we headed up to the Windjammer Cafe for lunch. I haven’t got any photos of that sorry!

Then we headed to Deck 12 mid-ship to our stateroom hide-away for our departure. We had a stateroom with a balcony on the port side of the ship. The images in the gallery are our main stateroom and view of the balcony, one closet, we had two closets, the bathroom, the big bed…bigger than our Queen at home and there was storage in a cupboard above the bed, the vanity I used for applying my makeup, and over the course of the cruise our Stateroom Attendant left us 4 towel animals. My favorites were the bear, and elephant.

Views from our stateroom balcony-the busy port where people were being dropped off to get onboard, and the port crew loading the luggage, food, and all the things we’d need for the week, and the Seattle Skyline from our balcony on Deck 12 shortly after we left the port.

We’re off! North to Alaska, the rush is on!

This is the movie that made me want to go to Alaska when I was girl. I had this song in my head off and on the whole trip. 😊

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Celestial and Birds

July 9, 2025July 8, 2025Posted in Birds, Birds of North America, Moon, Moonrise, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged Birding, Cassin's FInch, Nevada, Waxing Gibbous Moons, Whatever Wednesday33 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

While birding last week I saw a Cassin’s Finch chick being fed by its parent and made several images of it. Unfortunately, they were facing me with the sun to their backs and in my face. So, the image isn’t great but, what is… is what I discovered once I uploaded my images.

Off to the right of the birds is a satellite flare. I think it’s a Starlink flare/glint which would be the first time I’ve photographed one of those.

Regarding this next image- A friend had been sharing his images of the Moon several days ago with me so, the other evening when I saw the Moon shining out my living room window I was inspired to get up and photograph it.

Here’s the moon at 82.7% percent full. A waxing Gibbous Moon from July 6th.

The bottom crater is Tycho. I really like its crusty textured bits. I know the other large crater off on the left below the Sea of Showers is the Copernicus Crater. I wish I didn’t need a poster to help me every single time with the other sea and crater names, but I do.

July’s Full Moon is called the Buck Moon. It also has several other names like Thunder Moon, and Hay Moon.

The Full Moon this month is July 10th.

Fun Facts:

This full moon coincides with a Major Lunar Standstill in 2025, making the moon appear especially low in the sky after sunset due to its orbital path and the recent summer solstice.

It will be the farthest full moon from the Sun in 2025, occurring shortly after Earth reached aphelion — the point in its orbit farthest from the Sun.
In some regions, such as India, the full moon coincides with Guru Purnima, a spiritually significant event, enhancing its cultural importance.
The Buck Moon gets its name from the Algonquin-speaking Native American tribes, as July is the time when male deer (bucks) begin to grow new antlers covered in velvet, symbolizing renewal and growth.

Fun facts gleaned from Space.com

Nikon D850| Nikkor 500mm PF-e| Processed with Photoshop CC

more to come…

Whatever Weds.- Riding High

May 28, 2025May 27, 2025Posted in Photography, Transportation, Whatever WednesdayTagged Bicycles, Penny-farthing, Whatever Wednesday46 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Penny-farthing

This bicycle was popular between 1874-1886.

They’re fun to see ridden but, they were fast, and dangerous. With the exception of the railways nothing was faster on the roads.

They were dangerous because the risk of falling was great. Heading over the handlebars was problematic. So makers tried making the handlebars so riders knees could clear them. They had design changes that included reversing the large and small wheels but, that proved dangerous as well by being thrown off the bike backwards when going uphill.

It got its name from the size of its wheels-the front was large like the British penny, the smaller back wheel was the farthing.

The Penny-farthing fell out of favor when the safety bicycle was invented in the 1890’s.

I saw this bicycle and a few other odd ones in Sonoma, CA back in 2011.

more to come…

Whatever Weds. A Mother’s Tender Touch

May 7, 2025Posted in Whatever WednesdayTagged Horses, Nature, Whatever Wednesday, Wild Mustangs43 Comments

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more to come…

Whatever Weds. Chipmunk

October 23, 2024October 22, 2024Posted in Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged Chipmunks, Nature, Nikon, Rodents, Wildlife46 Comments

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The two expression this Chipmunk made while I was taking its photo had me chuckling.

I got it!

Uh, what nut?!

Nikon D850| Nikkor 500mm| PS CC

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Tawny Pennant

September 25, 2024September 24, 2024Posted in Insects, Nature Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged Dragonflies, Insects, Nikon, Pinellas Co Florida, Tropical Pennants, Whatever Wednesday26 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I was recently in Pinellas County, Florida visiting my Mom and Step-father and I did some birding too. While birding I always keep my eyes open for other things in nature like this Dragonfly.

I think it’s a Tawny Pennant-Brachymesia herbida. It’s in the Tropical Pennant family. If I’m wrong and you know what it is please let me know!

I think he looks like he’s wearing an early pilot’s helmet, eye goggles, and smiling at me. Hamming it up for the camera I suppose.😊

Nikon D850| Nikkor 500mm| PS CC

more to come…

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