Terminal Happiness

The Port of Seattle is opening Terminal 91 next April, as the Alaska cruise business expands further with more USA departures. Apparently Carnival Corporation is giddy at the prospects - so much so, they've already signed a 10-year agreement. Carnival is the biggest player in Seattle, with their Holland America and Princess brands having at least 5 ships based there during the Summer, carrying over 420,000 passengers from Seattle each year. Terminal 91 will be located just north of downtown Seattle, featuring panoramic views of the city's skyline, Mt. Rainier and the Olympic Mountains. The two-story, 143,000-sq. ft. facility has two berths that are 4-football fields long, both equipped to provide shore power for ships so they can shut down their engines in port.
I'm impressed! Thinking green is great in this day and age. The 10-year agreement gives Carnival's fleet preferential rights in scheduling. Terminal 66 will remain open, so for now other line won't need to juggle their schedules.

October was a good month for airlines. Fuel costs came down, and because of reduced scheduling and fewer flights in the air, they posted an 86 percent "on time" rating. That's pretty good, when you consider there are still mechanical issues and weather issues that no one has control over. Let's see if they can keep it up for the Holidays....that may be too much of a Christmas wish, but I'm a positive kind of guy. Now if they could just give me my dang free peanuts back.

Last week sometime, I mentioned that Hawaii's tourism has taken a hit. Today, a new report is out that refers to a highly-specific, highly profitable area of tourism that has been hit even harder in Hawaii. Honeymoons. For decades, Hawaii was among THE places to go to get hitched, and some suppliers report having business virtually cut in half from last year. One local man who has been involved in the honeymoon trade for years, Pastor Penei Aller, said he's performed more baptisms than weddings. "That's never happened before," Aller was quoted as saying on USAToday.com. Like I said, Hawaii had better watch out and realize they need to stroke the tourism industry big-time. Otherwise, people will continue to flock to the much-closer-to-home spots like Mexico and The Caribbean.

Officer - Arrest that salesman! Oops, he's a cop too? In November, the Denver Police Department held its annual, and highly-profitable "seized contraband auction", where they earn money for the Department by auctioning/selling items confiscated from criminals during the previous year. This year, one of the items was a 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass, which was bought by a 19-year-old woman for $350. Not sure if she was auditioning for MTV's Pimp My Ride or not, but there turned out to be an unexpected complication with the sale. After she made the legal purchase, then went on about her life, she was contacted by Police and informed that her "new" vehicle was actually still evidence in an active murder investigation. Police eventually confiscated the car back from her, noting the sweet ride still had bullet holes in the doors and fenders, a bloody interior and still contained scraps of blood-stained clothing. Furthermore, a second shooting victim who was in the car at the time of the murder survived, and was among the bidders at the auction. He dropped out when the price got over $300, but he later sold the winning bidder his spare key to the car for $40. The woman who purchased the car was either a Bonnie & Clyde aficionado, or had vision worse than Mr. Magoo! She received a full refund, and is rumored to be in the market for the original man-eating car from Steven King's "Christine".

The Associated Press ran an unusual story with a feel-good Holiday ending. Ms. Billie Watts, a 75-year-old Murfreesboro, Tennessee woman recently had to use the restroom in a Cracker Barrel restaurant. No, that's not the end of the story. Quit pushing me! Anyway, while she was in the stall, she noticed a tapestry bag hanging from a hook, and it appeared to be out of place and left there by someone. Mrs. Watts told The Murfreesboro Daily News Journal that she was a bit curious, so she peeked into the bag and discovered $97,000 in cash, in a bundle of neatly-stacked $1000 bills. She started looking through the bag for ID, to identify a possible owner, but there was nothing of the sort inside, except for a few anonymous photographs. Only money. She decided to take the new-found fortune home, to discuss with her husband what to do, but then decided to call Cracker Barrel back and ask if they had a "lost and found." She was told yes, but she decided to just give them her name and phone number, saying only if someone comes looking for a bag, call me. A woman called about 15 minutes later, saying she was the owner of the bag, and had no trouble identifying the pictures inside. It was obviously hers. Mrs. Watts returned the bag to the owner, whom she described as an elderly woman, but said she does not have the woman's last name or phone number. She said the woman merely told her that the money came from selling her home and her belongings, and that she was on her way to start a new life in Florida with her son. Watts said the woman offered a $1,000 reward, but she refused it. Grover Cleveland. That had to be exactly what you were thinking just now, "Whose face is on a $1000 bill, anyway?" Am I right? Am I right? You Betcha!

Full-time job: Cap'n.

Part-time job: Psychic.

Or is it Psychotic? I always get those two confused...