April 30

And so the journey ends...thought I would end it the way it began with the Statue of Liberty and sunrise over NYC!  We were really glad to get home.  It has been a wonderful adventure and we enjoyed everything we saw.  Now we just have to sit back and absorb all of it!  Hope you enjoyed it also.  That's all.

April 24

We are now on the Queen Mary 2 headed back to the good old USA!  We are happy to be on this last leg of the journey finally!  The QM2 is an amazing ship - about twice the size of the QE2!  It woould take more than 6 days to learn your way around!  But we have found a favorite bar and our dining room and our room and the library (which is where I am now) - what else could we need.  Yesterday in Southhampton, between ships, we went to this fantastic hotel/spa out in the country for lunch.  It was fabulous.  Don't think I will be staying there any time soon though - their cheapest room was 290 pounds a night!  Almost 2 dollars to the pound!  It was nice and, as I said, we are glad to be on the QM2 headed home.  The BLOG is nearing an end too - may take some pictures of this ship and hopefully the Statue of Liberty on Saturday morning to end this journey.  Hope you have enjoyed.

April 22

Our program this morning said those who were doing the World Cruise from Southampton to Southampton will have traveled 40312 miles tomorrow when we arrive in Southampton! Hard to believe that a week from today when we get back to New York we will have covered 40312 miles on the seas! Our stop in Lisbon yesterday was wonderful - it is a really beautiful place and our tour was great. We left in the morning and headed to a couple of seaside towns - one of which was quite a resort. It would be a nice place to come spend some time. We passed one beach which our guide said was favored by wind surfers the world over - the wind was very strong - the beach sand had formed large dunes on the other side of the road. Our guide said the road was often closed in the winter because of sand. Then we went into the hills to the town of Sintra which was the summer residence of the king back in the 14th century. It was a beautiful drive and a wonderful small town. The roads were steep and narrow. A lot of the houses had beautiful tile work on them - our guide said that at one point tile was cheaper than paint - sure made for some beautiful houses! The town itself is divided into the old section - where we wandered - full of cafes and small shops and the new section where people actually live and eat at places like McDonalds and Pizza Hut. The Americanization of the world continues. On the way back we came the inland route - freeway and all which was not as pretty to say the least. We got back to the ship in time for lunch and then packed some more. At 4 we pulled out of Lisbon - it was very cold and windy on deck but we got some good pictures. There is a statue on the banks of the Tagus River (which is where the port for Lisbon is) that is in honor of the explorers - it was Portugal who first did a lot of the exploration what with Vasco da Gama finding the route around Africa and all. It looks like the bow of a ship with statues of each of the explorers along the side - it was impressive to sail by. They also have a huge statue of Christ the King like the one in Rio de Janeiro that was given to the city by the Catholic Church in exchange for their neutrality in WWII. All in all Portugal was a beautiful place - clean and scenic and friendly.

April 20

Today we left the Mediterranean and entered the Atlantic - must be headed home! Thought you would enjoy the pictures of the Rock of Gibraltar. It was beautiful sunny weather BUT the wind was blowing and it felt awfully cold! Great to be able to see Europe and Africa at the same time - too far apart for a picture that shows both though. Tomorrow Lisbon.

April 19

Today we are in Valencia, Spain. It is a wonderful small city. However, our tour was AWFUL! Absolutely horrid. Our guide was the pits. Our tour went to the Lladro factory which was really neat - amazing how they make all of the porcelain statues - really interesting. No wonder Lladro costs so much - it is very labor intensive! The woman who makes all of those tiny flowers is just amazing - no way my clumsy hands could work with something that small. And the women who painted the statues’ faces were amazing! Such delicate work. And the way the make parasols out of porcelain was too fascinating! Then of course they gave us time to browse in the Lladro shop. But our STUPID guide never even mentioned when we should be back at the bus so at 12:30 or so she finally comes back and we head off to our next stop - mind you we were supposed to be back on the ship by 1:30! By the time we got to the next stop it is 12:55 and she tells us only half the group at a time can go through the Ceramics Museum! That gives each group approximately 10 minutes since it is still a 5 minute walk away! Ginnie and I - even though she was really looking forward to it - opted to sit in a café and watch the people! It was a beautiful day and the town was great. We drove by a wonderful beach - very long and very wide. There were some beautiful buildings and the iron work on the balconies was fantastic - no two buildings had the same design. It looked great - had it all - a nice beach, beautiful buildings, wonderful weather. It was just the tour that was the pits! I think Valencia is a place I would like to visit again - just on my own - no tour!

April 18

Even the ship ride from Greece to Rome was great - we passed close enough to Sicily to see Mt. Etna covered in snow and then we passed very close to Stromboli which is an island that is an active volcano - just kind of burps all the time but there are villages on a couple sides of the island. But one side had smoke and steam rising from it because of the lava and hot rocks falling down the side. It was great. Then the real treat - ROME! Definitely a place I want to come back to explore! We took a tour that took us the 90 minutes into Rome from the port and dropped us off in Piazza del Popolo and turned us loose for 3 and a half hours! What a wonderful tour! It was Easter Monday which is a major holiday in Rome so all the stores were closed and there really weren’t very many people around - all the Romans take advantage of the holiday to go to the shore. Ginnie and I walked down to the Spanish Steps and then over to the Trevi Fountain! Great googly-wooglies! It was so fantastic! I was absolutely amazed. So beautiful - and so huge! Words really can’t describe. We did manage to find a couple of open shops and browsed for a while and bought a few things even though we have already packed our “junque” in the new suitcase we bought in Kusadasi! Then we took a cab back to Piazza del Popolo and had lunch in a sidewalk café - 5 Euros for a 200ml Coke!! The little tiny Coke cost more than the sandwiches! After lunch we got back on the bus and went to the Coliseum - it too was fantastic. Amazing to imagine what it may have been like with 70,000 Romans cheering on the gladiators! After the Coliseum we went to St. Peter’s Basilica. The crowds were huge - we had to stand in a ling line to get into the church. BUT good gravy - I was absolutely stunned speechless. It is so huge and so absolutely beautiful - it just takes your breath away! Amazing - absolutely amazing. No good pictures from inside though - too immense for a flash and too dark to take pictures without - I can’t keep a camera still enough. Another coffee table book to buy. But it was so beautiful and so grand! Then the drive back to the ship though the Italian countryside which is green and lush - even have redbud trees (at least they sure looked like them) in bloom everywhere so even though I missed them at home I got to see some! All in all it was a fantastic day. Now just 2 more stops until we get to England and change ships for the trip to NY.

April 15

4-15: Today was Greece! Amazing - just one country after another. We took a tour called Highlights of Athens - we went to the original Olympic Stadium that has been restored and they still use it. Then we went to the Acropolis which was fantastic. It is a real hike so Ginnie stayed in the café at the bottom. Acropolis literally means “city on a hill” and it was on a hill. The view from there was spectacular. The Parthenon - which was a temple to Athena - was huge - many of the columns are still standing. It was all wonderful to see after having heard about it for so long. There was another temple up there also which was much smaller then the Parthenon. Much of the original is gone - many of the statues are in the British Museum and the large statue of Athena was taken to Constantinople in the 1400s. From the Acropolis we could see the whole city of Athens. We could see another temple - one to Zeus - and two separate theaters. The day was beautiful - cool and sunny. Tomorrow a sea day and then Rome.

April 14

4-14: Today we were in Kusadasi, Turkey. What a beautiful town. We headed out this morning to go to the ruins at Ephesus, but Ginnie just felt she couldn’t make it so I went by myself. It was a wonderful thing to see - Greek and then Roman ruins. It used to be a coastal town but is now 5km from the sea. It is also important in early Christianity - Mary supposedly spent her last days here. Also, St. John is buried here. The city is on a hillside and inside the gates at the top were the Roman bathes - when a traveler arrived the first thing he was to do was bathe. The road was paved in marble - and the story has it that when Anthony and Cleopatra came here on their honeymoon they poured red wine on the marble - the first red carpet! The library was one of the largest in the ancient world - the building looks like a two story building but it was actually three stories and there were no stairs inside so they think that there was an elevator! And the public restroom - the one the ancient people used was amazing - a large room with carved holes around three sides of the room that had running water through a trench under them. Obviously no modesty here because it was unisex and they were one right next to the other! The archeologists estimate the size of the ancient cities by the size of their amphitheaters - in this case the amphitheater holds 25,000 therefore they estimate the population at 100,000 people! Many more people than live in Kusadasi today! Then the tour took us to a carpet store where we learned how the Turkish carpets were woven. Boy were they beautiful! They served us refreshments and I had a local beer - called Efes - it was pretty good. After the carpet demonstration we came back to the ship for lunch. After lunch Bill and Susan and I headed out on a quest for suitcases - yes we have bought too much JUNQUE to fit in the suitcases we came with! And this will be the last port where we could get a cheap suitcase. We were successful so now we will be able to get everything home! Tomorrow is Athens so this BLOG will probably not get posted until Sunday BUT I wanted to get it written. It was a great day even though it was cool and rainy.

April 13

4-13: Good Gravy! Yesterday as we are driving into Cairo after a 3 hour bus trip our guide says casually - now, look out the right side windows! Lo and behold over the city building are peeking the pyramids! Amazing! Then for the next 10 minutes or so as we were driving through the city we were just mesmerized by these mammoth pyramids dwarfing the city. These three pyramids that are right here on the edge of Cairo are of Cheops, his son Chephren, and grandson Mycerinus. The Pyramid of Cheops was completed about 2500BC and covers 13 acres! There are also a few very small pyramids that are of various and sundry wives. Once again, until standing next to it, it is hard to realize how huge they really are! Absolutely stunning. We stopped between two of the pyramids so that we could get close up views and then drove up to a hilltop where we had a view of the three together with the city of Cairo behind them. Then we drove down to see the Sphinx! Amazing - but it is not really in very good shape - there was scaffolding in front of it. BUT it is huge and carved out of one rock. Truly mind-boggling! Then came the CAMEL rides! They warned that we needed good balance and Ginnie could see her oxygen pulling her off the camel so she opted to watch but I went. They are high off the ground. I got on while he was down on the ground and as he unfolded those LONG legs it was hard to stay put on his back, but once under way it was like being on a horse only higher! We walked up to where there was a good view of the pyramids and my camel person took pictures of me on the camel with the pyramids in the back! It was great. When the camel kneeled back down at the end of the ride so that I could get off it was a rocky ride then too. I have ridden a camel - how neat is that! Then we went to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities which was great - did not have anywhere enough time. We saw King Tut’s stuff - absolutely amazing. Supposedly a lot is in America right now BUT as we looked around there were very few signs saying “on tour” in place of this or that artifact. His throne was amazing and his gold mask and the sarcophagi and everything else! Could have spent days here - instead of an hour! Then we had lunch on the Nile. It was okay but the lunch was not wonderful. It was a Hyatt boat and fancier than necessary - would have enjoyed something more casual. Cairo itself is a filthy city - trash all over the place - and poor living conditions. Once again many unfinished houses and dirt alleys where the people lived. And the traffic was amazing - they made 7 lane roads out of roads that should have been 3 lanes! On our way back we went by the market in Alexandria - it was amazing - so much for sale - in the shops and on the streets. And so busy at 8pm - people everywhere! Egypt is a place I would come again - but only if I had more time. There is way too much to see - we feel we just barely scratched the surface.

April 11

Not much today - we are now in the Mediterranean.  Came through the Suez Canal today.  Bob if you are reading this I still have your postcard and will mail it from home since you put a US stamp on it!  The Suez Canal really does just go through desert on both sides - the Western side does have some agriculture but the Eastern side is pretty much just desert!  Interesting though.  Soldiers stationed all along the canal - Ginnie and I have never seen so many armed guards - they are all over the place in Egypt.  And the weather was fantastic - actually cool - almost cold this morning.  And lots of sunshine!  Haven't downloaded pictures yet so no picture today - maybe I'll include a Suez picture with the pyramids on Thursday.  Tomorrow the pyramids - can't wait!  All for now.

April 10

4-10: Great Googly-woogly! Our trip yesterday from Safaga on the Red Sea to Luxor on the Nile was a marathon! 15 hours! But well worth it. The buses left Safaga about 7 in the morning in a convoy with armed guards at the front and back - each bus even had its own armed guard! First we went up through these stark rock mountains and into flat sandy desert. As we neared the Nile there started to be many irrigated fields. Lots of sugar cane grown here. But their method of harvesting is so primitive - out in the fields cutting it by hand and putting it on small carts pulled by donkeys. Then they get it to a small train that takes it to a central place for processing. And all of the houses are unfinished - because until they finish them they do not have to pay taxes! A lot of the places that were occupied looked unlivable to us. Once we got to Luxor our first stop was the Temple of Karnak which was just amazing. We’ve seen pictures and heard of the size BUT until you are standing among the 134 columns it is hard to imagine! Our guide was an Egyptologist who told us more than we really needed to know - he was very interesting but what with the sensory overload the information overload was almost too much. The statues and columns are so huge - and even thought he place itself is a ruin - so much of it is in tact. Even the undersides of some of the crossbars on the columns still had vivid paint on them - after 3500 years! It really is mind boggling. After the Temple of Karnak we went to a fancy hotel for lunch which was good - had a local beer - Stella. After lunch we went across the Nile to the Valley of the Kings which is where tombs of many of the pharaohs were located. It is barren desert mountains and the tombs were carved into the solid rock of the mountains. This is all what was called Egypt’s New Kingdom which is later than the pyramid era (1500BC -1100BC as opposed to 2500BC) - the mountain does have a pyramid shape so they didn’t feel the need to build pyramids. The tombs were all painted elaborately inside - and of course had been filled with all kinds of riches BUT those are not there any more - either stolen or in various museums. It was SO HOT and SO DRY that it was almost a killer - glad we weren’t there at the hottest point in the day. From there we went back across the Nile to the Temple of Luxor. It was also fantastic - amazing in size. And the statues are amazing in their detail - especially when you take into account the size -how do you make toes or knees that big! After the Temple of Luxor we headed back to Safaga - once again in an armed convoy. Got back to the ship about 9:30 and then of course had to stand in a long line in order to get back on board. All in all a LONG day but absolutely worth it. Now we are looking forward to the Suez Canal tomorrow and the pyramids on Wednesday!

March 6

4-6: Yesterday we saw our cousin, Starr, in Salalah, Oman - nothing like coming half way around the world to see a cousin that, in Ginnie’s case, you haven’t seen in 44 years! We had a great time. It all started out with our almost starting an international incident…Starr had taken a cab from her hotel to the port for 3 rials and the cabs at the port wanted 10 rials to take us into town! This is a bargaining society so Starr went down the group of cabs until she found one that agreed on 3 rials and brought it up to pick us up. We got in and headed out and all the cabbies got in front of the cab and would not let us pass. They were shouting at our cabbie and he was shouting back. Starr got out of the cab and was arguing with the head cabbie guy - it was wild. Then the cabbie told Ginnie and I to get out - he wasn’t willing to take the heat from the other cabbie guys. So here are the three of us with all these Arab men milling around talking to us - Starr at least able to talk back. A cop showed up but would not even talk to Starr - a woman and all that - but obviously was not backing the cabbies either. Finally, some nice cabbie, Saed, said get in and we did and he took us to town. The other cabbies were all still milling around. It was great! We sat in Starr’s hotel room and visited and talked to cousin Harry on the phone which was great. Then we called Saed and had him come pick us up for the afternoon. He took us to the suqs and then dropped us off for lunch - which was pretty bad - and then took us around Salalah. There are some beautiful beaches and since the Sultan will allow no foreigners to own land they are not at all developed - they were wonderful. The ocean is so clean and beautiful and even though it was a fairly warm day standing in the shade of the palm trees on the beach was great - nice cool breeze. When Saed was bringing us back to the ship he gave us presents - postcards and perfume! When was the last time a cab driver gave you a present - it was so sweet. All in all our day was great - we had a good time with Starr and Oman is really starkly beautiful. Now 3 sea days until Safaga where we have an all day tour to Thebes and the Valley of the Kings.

April 4

4-4: Yesterday about 2 we pulled out of Dubai and headed back through the Straits of Hormuz on our way to Salalah where we will see our cousin, Starr! Our time in Dubai was very nice. It is a beautiful city - very clean and modern. The first day we did not really have time for a tour because we were having the “big to-do” for the World Cruisers and needed to be formally dressed by 5! Yippee - another formal occasion! So we went on the shuttle bus which took us to a big mall - surprise! It was a beautiful mall - 3 stories - hundreds of upscale stores BUT shopping in Saks was not why I ended up in Dubai. And it seems that it is just one of many many huge upscale malls in Dubai - there is even one with an indoor ski slope - yep, ski slope. It snows in the building everyday and has lifts and when you pay to ski it includes clothes as well as boots and skis! The picture that looks like the beginning of an aluminum tunnel to Mars is the indoor ski run! So we wandered a bit and then took the shuttle back to the ship in time for lunch. We spent the afternoon reading on deck. Actually - it was a cloudy day - about 82 or so. Our guide said we were in port the 2 cloudy days of the year! The party was very nice - at some fancy hotel - though not the one that looks like a sail. The cocktail party was out on a patio and they had camels and falcons and people smoking apples in hookahs. It was great. We really enjoyed it. Dinner was okay but we figured we would have been just as happy to go back to the hotel after the cocktail party. The next morning we had a tour called Old and New Dubai and it was a great tour. First we went out to a place on one of the few public beaches (you realize the Arab woman have their own beach and certain times when they are allowed to go there) where we could take pictures of the sail hotel. You can’t just go into the hotel - you have to have reservations for something like the $70 per person afternoon tea or $10,000 per night Presidential Suite! Then we went to take pictures of a mosque which was very pretty. Then we went to a village that has been preserved - or rebuilt - on the riverfront to show what life had been like and to the museum which was really great. It was built in what remained of the old fort which had been built with coral bricks! The museum was wonderful - amazing what oodles of oil money can do - the city really is amazing. But over 80% of the people who live in Dubai are ex-pats - only 20% are actually from the UAE. But the ex-pats are not allowed to own property within the city. After the museum we boarded small water taxis that took us across Dubai Creek to the suqs - we first saw the Spice Suq which really smelled good and then went to the Gold Suq. Hundreds of small stores selling all kinds of gold jewelry! However, it was not inexpensive so we did not partake! And besides that it is one of these bargaining places so I always feel like I have been taken if I buy something - okay for $5 souvenirs but not $300 bracelets! All in all we were very impressed with Dubai. BUT the most exciting thing that happened was while we were having our before dinner beers in the Chart Room. I had gone to the window to see if it was land or cloud banks I could see in the distance and what did I see but 7 small speed boats heading for us at breakneck speed! Scared us to death - they just kept coming and one guy finally waved and I hoped he wasn’t greeting Allah! Our first thought was terrorism - I relaxed a little after I saw that a couple of the men had life preservers on - figured suicide bombers wouldn’t be wearing life vests! But it really did shake us up - they got very close and then split up, some going in front of the ship and some behind! Needed another beer before dinner after that!

March 30

3-30: Yesterday we got into Mumbai (formerly Bombay) at about 11:30 in the morning. As soon as the ship was cleared we headed out for our lunch at the Taj Mahal Hotel. (Picture included) It is a magnificent building built in the early 1900s when the man who built it was refused service at the classy hotel of the day because he was an Indian. When we arrived they put red dots on our foreheads. Our lunch was amazing. We had two appetizer courses - one vegetarian and one not. All who know me will be amazed to know that I tried everything! Most of it was very good BUT very HOT! Mexican food has nothing on Indian food. The plate in the picture was for our main course which was a sampling of a lot of different things - lamb and prawns and beans and potatoes and a lobster tail! It was all good. Then we had dessert - ice cream like a popsicle that was very good along with other things. They also had chip that looked like curled into a cone tortilla chips that were made from lentils that were very very HOT! During lunch we had a show that was strange - Bollywood which is the Indian film industry put on song and dance numbers from the movies. After lunch we went to the Dhobi Ghat which is the mind boggling outside laundry! The pictures don’t do it justice - it is absolutely amazing! It is all men doing the work - they pick up the clothes from the people’s homes, wash them, dry them, iron them and return them! It is really one of the most fascinating things I have seen We went back again today on the tour and I was still amazed! Then back to the ship where for once it was not formal wear at dinner - guys don’t even need a tie! But it was Indian dinner night and Ginnie and I had had enough of that so we both just ordered big salads - and we were so tired that shortly after dinner we were sound asleep. Then this morning we had another tour. Once again to the Dhobi Ghat and then to the Ghandi museum which is in the house where he stayed when in Bombay. It is under renovation but it was still interesting. Then to the Prince of Wales Museum (which now has an Indian name) where we spent most of our time in the Natural History part of the museum looking at the animals. Then on to the Gate of India which was built to honor the King of England when he came to visit - though it was not built until after he had been here. Everywhere we went there were people hawking “junk” and beggars - especially young woman with babies and young children. Our guide said manyof the women just picked kids up off the street for begging - that they weren’t even their children - she said it was big business. But what a cute little kid from our bus window. All in all Mumbai was much cleaner and nicer than Sri Lanka - or for that matter the rest of SE Asia - we were pleasantly surprised. Tonight we leave Mumbai and head toward Dubai - 2 sea days.

March 28

3-27am: Yesterday we were in Sri Lanka and neither of us can figure out why anyone would come here on purpose BUT there are many resort hotels at one of which we spent the day. We woke up to a driving rain - it was coming down in buckets - and we were thinking how wonderful that we had picked this spot for a day in the sun at a resort! The drive to the Royal Palms was an hour and a half through some of the most abject poverty we have ever seen. And dirty - trash all over the place. Let me tell you - after seeing Columbo yesterday I take back my comment a few days ago (in the BLOG about Singapore’s cleanliness) about littered America. We are much closer to Singapore thank heavens than Sri Lanka - and our table mates tell us “wait til you see India”!! Anyhow, our drive was very interesting - there are thousands of “took-tooks” which are these little three wheeled cabs that just drive like idiots in and out of traffic! I do wonder what the death rate of took-took drivers is. We passed the sidewalk stalls selling all kinds of fruit - and fish just laid out on a slab of wood on the dirty sidewalk. And people - lots and lots of people. They were dressed every which way - most of the women were in saris and the men were either in pants or in sari-like skirts. And everyone had on sandals - mostly rubber flip flops which came in handy yesterday in the monsoons! The streets were all flooded - nowhere for the water to go - didn’t seem to have any storm sewers. And the living conditions were very poor. We thought perhaps this was the area of the tsunami but it was not - we were on the wrong side of the island. It was amazing. The resort was very nice and the sun did come out. It was hot and humid. They served us a buffet lunch with samples of all the different foods - some of which were very HOT! Then about 4 we headed back to the ship - another interesting drive - I think Ginnie and I enjoyed the drive more than the resort. Not much in the way of pictures - the one of the man on his bike on the dirt road is on the road to the resort - which is behind guarded gates - not my idea of an ideal vacation spot! And the Birmingham kids will be glad to know that we have our own personal Ethel, our room steward - she is from Eastern Europe someplace and she is Ethel in all respects!

3-27pm: We toured Cochin, India today. IT WAS HOT!! First we went on a boat to see the harbor. It was interesting. We went out to see the Chinese fishermen nets - they werefascinating. Huge nets with a system of pulleys etc to catch fish from the shore They were all up when we went by and our guide said they put them down at full tide. Then we got on a bus and went to “Jewtown” and saw a synagogue that had been built in 1568. The first Jews came to India in 175 BC and since the establishment of Israel the Jewish population of Cochin has dwindled to 14. The walk to the synagogue was lined with shops - Ginnie didn’t make the whole walk but enjoyed the small shops along the way. They were very interesting - small and crowded and sold a little of everything. Then we went to a Dutch Palace which was built in 1557 - there was a huge mural on the walls that depicted a mythical history of India and Sri Lanka. After the Dutch Palace, which was actually built by the Portuguese , we went to the Church of St. Francis which was built in the 16th century. Vasco da Gama, who died in Kochi (Cochin) in 1524 was buried in the church for 14 years until his remains were taken back to Portugal. After the church we were taken to the obligatory fancy store stop - only reason we went in was because there was a potty, but, you know, when you sweat for hours you really don’t need to pee as much! The city itself was not as trashy as Columbo, but it was dirty and crowded - open sewers seemed to be flowing along some of the streets. You would pass a fairly decent looking house and behind the wall - in the yard - would be rubble - why not make where you live attractive? Not sure I understand. All in all it was a good enough tour but it was HOT and Cochin, India is not a place I will revisit!

March 24

3-24 Fri.: Well, we never thought we would be happy to have a sea day but after 3 ports in 3 days we are glad to be able to take it easy today! BUT Ginnie is one mad puppy because the Duke game was supposed to be on at 7:10 this morning and it was not! No satellite feed! We did collect the brackets and entry fees last night - 18 whole people participating! And Ginnie did wear her blue hair! On Wednesday we were in Penang. Our first stop was at a batik factory - though factory might be a bit of an overstatement - it was a couple of shacks with about 10 employees. They did show us the process - they mainly work with silk - and of course, they did have stuff to sell. Then we went to the butterfly farm which was FANTASTIC. Some of the biggest butterflies I have ever seen and thousands of them. One large butterfly had wing tips that looked like snake heads - amazing. On the way back to the bus we stopped at a fruit stand shack that had a rubber tree growing up through the middle of it and saw how they cut the rubber tree to let the latex run out. And they cut into one of those stinky fruits that John Haase had told us about - boy , he was right - they do stink! The tour was long and HOT and our guide was annoying but the sights were worth it. Then yesterday we were in Phuket. Hard to believe it has only been 15 months since the tsunami hit here - so much has been rebuilt. Our tour took us to an elephant safari place where we saw an elephant show and a monkey show and the rode on an elephant! During the show they offered elephant massages - people went out an stretched out on a mat and they put a small blanket over their backs and the young elephant rubbed their backs with his foot - all the while kissing their bare arms with his trunk! Amazing. It was great. The shows were good and the ride was nice - really bumpy!! Then we went to a rubber plantations and saw how they process the rubber - they tap the trees at night because in the heat of the day the latex does not run as quickly. Then we went to a cashew factory - no wonder they are so expensive! Each nut husk is separated from the fruit that grows from it and then each husk is separated - if the nut is whole it goes in one dish and if split it goes in another. And at some point in the process they boil them and then bake them. Slow process. We bought some good stuff BUT don’t think it will get home to any of you! Then we made an obligatory stop for shopping at a real upscale jewelry store that of course also sold the same souvenirs you could by anywhere else. We object to being led like a lamb to the slaughter at these store - wonder what the kickback deal Cunard has! Today is cloudy and rainy but we are enjoying being lazy. Columbo on Sunday.

March 22

3-21: Today we were in Singapore. We did not have a tour because we had waited until the last minute to sign up. So this morning we headed out on our own - we were going to take the shuttle bus into town from the port. The line to get on the shuttle bus was very long and there were taxis for hire - 2 hour tour and they would drop you anywhere in town. So that is what we did. Our driver took us to Chinatown where we were able to wander some. Then we went to a Chinese Buddhist Temple but we have seen a lot of those lately. It was very pretty and right in the midst of tall modern buildings. Then we went to Little India. Singapore is about 65% Chinese and 20% Indian and 10% Malaysian. Then our driver took us to the place where Singapore was first discovered by the British - by Sir Stamford Raffles. There were a couple of Indians there with their pythons. And for 5 Singapore dollars you could hold the snake over your shoulders! So Ginnie did! Pictures included. I didn’t really see the need to get that up close and personal with a big snake! After that stop our 2 hour tour was over and he dropped us where the shuttle bus would have taken us - the main shopping district. We went into one of the malls and saw a Pizza Hut and went in for a coke. They had some different things on the menu and as an add on they had Spanish tortilla chips with alfredo or Bolognese sauce. Just had to see what that was - just a morning snack. It was just a baked flour tortilla with the dipping sauce. All the fast food restaurants seem to make adjustments for location - see what McDonalds serves in Singapore (picture). After our cokes we went in search of the rest room and we found it BUT you had to pay 20 cents to go in!! Then we headed back to the ship on the shuttle bus. Singapore is an amazingly clean city - but it is called a “fine” city. They have huge fines for littering or smoking or spitting. It is against the law to chew gum - they don’t even sell it anywhere. Somehow, there needs to be a happy medium between the “fine” city and the littered American cities I’m used to. I mean driving the major roads you see no litter - it is amazing. Oh and there is an SMU in Singapore - Singapore Management University - it was a very big University and there were SMU signs all over the place - kind of wild.

March 20

3-20: We awoke this morning and turned the TV on to see if we were getting any NCAA basketball. We are now watching Texas thoroughly whomp NC State. Too bad it is not a Duke game for Ginnie. In our daily program this morning there was an announcement for a March Madness get together in the Golden Lion Pub at 4:30. Ginnie is going to wear her blue hair! Yesterday was interesting. As were driving though the city to our first stop we saw how they transport pigs to market - never seen a pickup truck so loaded with ham on the hoof in my life! How would you like to be the pig man sitting in the back with the pigs? Our first stop was the Wooden Pavilion which is being built as a Sanctuary of Truth. It is amazing but seems to be an exercise in futility to me - it is all made of wood and it is rotting and cracking as fast (or should I say as slowly) as they are building it. They have been building it for 20 years and think they will be building it for the next 20 at least! It is a work of art though - so many intricately carved panels and so huge. It is in a beautiful spot - right next to the ocean. But it is weird - not built as a temple but as a cultural learning center to teach young Thais about their culture. Couldn’t resist taking a picture of the sign - I love their translation. We also went to a place called Three Kingdoms Theme Park which is actually a place built by the children of a Chinese Thai business man who had more money than he knew what to do with as his burial ground. He wanted a monument that would keep Chinese traditions alive in Thailand or some such. It was absolutely stunning. The grounds and the buildings were fantastic. It was way out in the boonies - our bus driver kept stopping to ask directions - made us very confident about getting back to the ship! But we went through pineapple fields and tapioca fields - didn’t know pineapples grow close to the ground and that tapioca is scraped off the roots of a tapioca plant! All in all it was a good day - not as oppressively hot as the day before though still VERY hot and muggy - it is all relative! We came back to the ship, ate lunch, and went to the movies - we saw Cinderella Man. Enjoyed it.

March 18

This morning we docked in Laem Chabang about 8am. All tours into Bangkok were canceled because of the expected demonstrations over the Prime Minister. They felt it was not safe to go into Bangkok. The tours that stayed out of Bangkok were still scheduled. So Ginnie and I went to The Garden Transfer tour that we had scheduled. The gardens were beautiful BUT we really didn’t see much of them. We got our pictures taken with monkeys - well, an orangutan and a chimp! It was too funny - the orangutan nibbled on our ears - we were glad that we still had ear rings when we got up! It was great! You could also have your picture taken with a Cheetah (or leopard or some such) and birds BUT we didn’t do that. You hade to pay $2 US for each picture and then they would sell you the actual picture later for $5 US. However, the guy who was selling the pictures had no change and wouldn’t take $7 and 20bot for two pictures so I didn’t get them. We also went to a cultural show - lots of different dances, some kick boxing which was very similar to American “wrestling” - they even knocked out the ref! The also had an elephant show - the elephants ate bananas, threw darts at balloons, rode bicycles, painted pictures, played soccer, etc! It was great. After the elephant show we were allowed one free (right) drink - we had local beer - called Singha - it was pretty good. Then we came back to the ship. IT IS HOT here - supposed to get up to about 40C which is about 104! And the humidity is high too! Two of the pictures are the ones that would not go on the other day - the flower dog and the smoky temple. The rest are from this morning - enjoy.

March 16

3-16: We did eat at the California Pizza Kitchen and other than the fact that we were drinking Tsing Tao beers surrounded by Chinese people we could have imagined ourselves at home! Well, there was also a card on the table advertising their special for high tea - not sure pizza places in the US do tea! Then yesterday we went on another tour. First we went to a Taoist Temple - never seen so much incense burned in one place - the whole courtyard was so smoky! Ginnie had enough sense to stay down below but even there the smoke was amazing. Our guide said that on Chinese New Year when the place is FULL everyone wears trench coats to protect themselves from the smoke and embers from the incense. It was a fascinating place and our guide seemed very knowledgeable. Then we went to the Flower Market which had been substituted for the Bird Market! It was beautiful - block of flower shops - very colorful. Amazing variety. After the Flower Market we went to the Jade Market. Seemed kind of like a flea market - lots of stalls with people selling jade -and assorted other things. Our guide told us that the jade was not always jade and to be very careful - not to buy any one piece that cost more than $20 US! According to the Chinese Zodiac, Ginnie was born in the Year of the Dragon (1940) and I was born in the Year of the Dog (1946) - Mike (1972) is the Year of the Rat and Jenny (1975) is the Year of the Rabbit. There are 12 sings so they repeat every 12 years - see if you can figure yours out even though we haven’t given you enough clues. We did buy some “jade” talismans for our years. On to Bangkok.  Pictures aren't working - some may have made it but not all - will try again later.  Sorry.

March 14

3-14: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE! We got in Hong Kong yesterday about 10. It is an amazing city - tall buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbor - in Kowloog which is on the mainland and in Hong Kong which is on an island. Our tour took us to the tram up Victoria Peak which is 1805 feet above sea level. The tram went straight up - well, not quite BUT it seemed that way! The view was spectacular even on a cloudy day. After the tram ride up Victoria Peak we went to Stanley Market - the ride there on the bus was almost as scary as the tram ride since the roads are about Mini-Cooper width and we were in a big bus! Stanley Market was interesting - a lot of small stores selling “junk” - some nice stuff but mostly t-shirts and fake jade Buddhas! After Stanley Market we went to the harbor and got on a motorized sampan to tour the floating village where the Chinese live on their boats. It is not as common as it once was but there are still people living on these boats - we saw a couple with dogs on them barking at us as we went by just like Breck at people on “ his street”! On the way back to the ship we passed a fascinating cemetery - called Happy Valley for you Penn State people. It was very crowded - as is the whole city of course, and it was tiered. So they can’t avoid crowded conditions even after death. Once back we sat in the Chart Room where the windows look out over Victoria Harbor to Hong Kong. Once it gets dark the buildings are all lit up with neon and changing colors and dancing lights! It is fantastic! Today we went out on our own to walk Nathan Street which is one of the main shopping streets. Oh - speaking of shopping, the ship is docked at one of the BIGGEST malls we have ever seen! All the fancy shops - Tommy and Polo and Prada etc! Not what we came around the world to do however! At lunch time we went to a Chinese (fancy that) restaurant. It was very nice. We had a couple of local beers - San Miguel - couldn’t believe that the local Hong Kong beer is called San Miguel. We had Spring Rolls and Prawns in a hot sauce and Frog Legs! I ever tried one BUT couldn’t get past the fact that they were frog’s legs! The rest of it was very good! Tonight we are going to go out into that big mall and eat at the California Pizza Kitchen - enough Chinese food for one day. Tomorrow we have another tour and then on to Bangkok! We still say can you believe we are in…?

3-13: Last night we were in really rough seas with 50 knot winds! Actually all day but for most of the day the seas were following as was the wind. Then about 9 we had to turn west and the seas and the wind were hitting us broadside! WOW! We were still at dinner when all kinds of things - glasses silverware serving dishes went flying off of all the serving stations! It was a huge crash! All of us who were still in the dining room just sat in amazement! Wild. Ginnie and I came down to our room and some stuff was not were it had been - we stowed everything away as well as possible - it was rocky. There was one more BIG movement of the ship but we had things pretty well put away by then. The Captain came on the speakers twice - the last time at 11:15 to tell people to be very careful that he had gotten reports that people had been hurt. He was having the stewards check all of the rooms - so Rolando came by about 10 minutes later. Then we could finally go to sleep but Ginnie, whose bed is not by the wall, had a hard time staying in bed! I did reach my hand out a couple of times to keep myself from going face first into the wall! The seas are much calmer this morning thank heavens. We are a couple of hours late into Hong Kong because the Shanghai port was closed due to fog when we were trying to leave and we left 4 hours late. But the weather is still bleak - we want sunshine!

March 12

3-11: Our time in Shanghai has been extended - hopefully not by much - because of the fog. The port has been closed down for the time being so instead of having left at 6pm we are still tied up at the dock at 9:15. Of course, Ginnie and I are pretty sure that the fog is just hiding the SMOG The air quality is not wonderful - made Ginnie’s breathing pretty difficult. Our time in Shanghai was great - an amazing city of 17 million people! Block after block of new 20+ story condo buildings - our guide said they had to be tall buildings because if it was only 5 or 6 stories there would be no elevators. Also he said you could tell the difference between the apartment buildings and the office buildings because there was no laundry hanging out of the windows in the office buildings. All of the apartment/condo buildings had laundry hanging out - it was amazing - even the new upscale buildings. Also - so many bicycles! And so many pedestrians. Very different from an American city. We got our tour at 2 yesterday and traveled into Shanghai from the port - about an hours drive. We went to the Jade Buddha Temple. It was a beautiful place. The Jade Buddha was cut from a solid piece of white jade and was brought from Burma in the 1800s - it weighs tons and was carried by hand. We saw the monks come out and do a chant of some sort and there were people coming in and buying incense and burning it and bowing in the four directions. And they tie wishes on ribbons on the trees to send them to heaven to be fulfilled. They would buy big boxes of something and would burn them in huge urns in the main courtyard. It was a very beautiful and interesting place. There were also many people selling “stuff” - fans, “Rolexes,” backscratchers, postcards, etc. - on the street leading to the temple - amazing - kind of like Mexico. Then we went to the Yu Garden which was very nice - we got there just before closing so we didn’t even need to fight the crowds - well, at least not once inside the garden. Most things were not yet in bloom but it was still very pretty - and peaceful - it was hard to believe you were in the middle of a city of 17 million! After the garden we went to the Hyatt Hotel where we were having dinner and spending the night. The hotel is in the top of the Jin Mao Building which is the tallest in China. The lobby is on the 54th floor and our room was on the 67th floor. Our rooms were magnificent - and huge, especially after 2 months on the ship! Dinner wasenjoyable even though the food really wasn’t that good. The entertainment was great - traditional acrobats etc - pictures included. After the dinner and show Ginnie and I went to the hotel bar and had a beer - it was interesting to see the bar - looked like any upscale bar in any US downtown - except that all the YUPPIES were Chinese. This morning we had breakfast and wrote some postcards and then came back to the ship. We did laundry and napped in our “broom closet” of a room! All in all the trip to Shanghai was wonderful. Our tour guide was the best we have had yet and he made the tour very interesting. We are headed out of port (10pm) - a cold front came through and cleared the fog out - so we should be able to get to Hong Kong on time. Enjoy the pictures. Bedtime!

March 10

Today we are in Shanghai.  We docked at 3:30 this morning so that the Chinese could come on board and clear the ship allowing people to get off.  Most places that takes about an hour or so BUT here it takes 5 hours or so - thus the middle of the night arrival.  When I went to get my passport I heard one of the ship's people asking the Chinese guy if they were allowed to weld anything.  Amazing.  Ginnie is tethered to the room this morning so that all of her oxygen tanks will be full when we get off this afternoon.  We are spending the night in Shanghai and are looking forward to it.  The weather is cold and gray, though it looks like the sun may be trying to burn off the fog - feels kind of like San Francisco.  All for now - will write abour Shanghai tomorrow when we get back.

March 9

3-8: Today we were in Kagoshima, Japan. You could see the volcano - barely - as we came into port this morning BUT the day was misty or polluted or something so the volcano disappeared into the mist. We had a great tour today. We went up into the mountains to the town of Chiran. It was a beautiful drive. Our tour guide was great - he talked a lot about WWII which Ginnie and I found fascinating. He said that the history books in Japan do not mention any of the atrocities that the Japanese committed during WWII - or any other time for that matter - because Japanese are taught never to speak ill of their ancestors. Amazing. He said he was a University graduate who had learned to speak English before he got an accurate picture of WWII. He told us that one of the ships that actually was sunk about 600 meters off the coast of the Kagoshima area by bombers was reported to be destroyed in a sea battle off of Okinawa according to the history books! We went to the Kamikaze Museum which was very interesting. A man gave a talk - even though we really couldn’t hear him - about the kamikaze pilots - read some of their letters which were written before taking off on their missions which were interesting. The average age was very young - most of them under 20. The museum itself was good BUT only if you spoke Japanese - nothing at all in English. The grounds were absolutely beautiful. There were a couple of shops but not much in the way of souvenirs - mainly food. Very strange - you have all these tourists ready to buy and there isn’t anything to buy! After the museum we went into the town of Chiran which was an old Samurai village. The houses from the 1600s were still there and still occupied! The gardens were typical Japanese gardens - small and much more attention paid to form than color. Of course - it was not color season either. The town of Chiran also had a foot deep canal that ran down the edge of the sidewalk that was filled with huge carp! Our guide said the carp was very revered in Japan. All in all it was a great tour - we really enjoyed it. Still hard to believe we were in Japan and are now headed to China! The pictures are a statue of a kamikaze pilot, stone lanterns (there were lots of them), the gardens, the inside of a samurai house, the canal and the carp. And last but not least a Japanese style toilet - western toilets were few and far between!

Mar. 7

3-7: Yesterday we docked in Kobe around 7am. All passengers and crew had had to have their temperatures taken on two separate occasions for the Japanese Quarantine Authority prior to our docking! It was amazing! Then they took their time allowing us to get off the ship so our tours started a little later than scheduled. The weather was lousy - gray and drizzly - BUT the tour was great. We took a bus from Kobe through Osaka to Koyoto which had been the capital of Japan until 1867 when the 15th Tokugawa Shogun returned sovereignty to the Emperor. First we toured the Golden Pavilion - properly called the Rokuon-ji Temple - which was beautiful - it had been originally built in the 1220s as a villa. The gardens are fantastic though it is still winter here so not much in bloom. However, there is a 600 year old Bonsai tree that has been fashioned into the shape of a sailing ship! Amazing. Then we went to lunch at a hotel - the lunch was not wonderful - raw fish to start and some soup with tofu! But we did have a Sapporo beer that came in huge bottles! After lunch Ginnie went to the VIP toilet where the seat was heated and there were 4 buttons which she was afraid to push for fear she would get her butt scrubbed! I missed that by going to the commoners ladies room but at least it was western style when so many of the toilets around here are simply holes in the floor - nice porcelain holes, but holes nonetheless! Then we headed across the street to the Nijo Castle which had been built in 1603 - and completed in 1626. It was a huge building with a moat and high outer walls. The floor in the castle is wood and specially built to make sounds so no one could sneak up on the Shogun who lived there. It is called a Nightingale floor and it is the most amazing thing - it just chips and sings as you walk across it! Then we headed to the train station in Koyoto to catch the bullet train back to Kobe! You have approximately 2 minutes to get on the train - our tablemates said they almost missed it because the people in front of them were so slow moving out of the way! The seats are very comfortable and the leg room is about 5 times what you would find on an American airplane! And it goes FAST making cars on the freeway next to us seem to be standing still! We got back to Kobe in 31 minutes when it had taken over an hour to drive the other way. Kobe had a large earthquake around 1997 which devastated the city - around 6000 people killed and buildings destroyed. On the way back to the ship we went to the Earthquake Memorial which was right down on the harbor. They had left a place that showed the damage - it was very interesting and the memorial park was very pretty. Other tidbits - there is a chain of 24 hour convenience stores called Lawson - we tried and tried to get a picture of the sign but failed. Also the 7-11s look like 7-11s but are called 7-i. And The Golden Arches over a Japanese word - whatever it may be! All in all - weather and lunch not included - it was a very good day! Tomorrow - Kagoshima!

March 4

3-4: Today we were in Taiwan. It is a beautiful island - very mountainous. Our guide said there were 24 mountains over 3000 meters - however tall that is! When we came into the harbor this morning the tug boats were spraying water in welcome - it was kind of neat. Our tour this morning was nice in spite of our guide who was AWFUL!!! First we drove from Keeling - a working port - to Taipei - a drive of about half an hour. Went through a lot of tunnels. We drove through downtown Taipei where the signs were mainly in both English and Chinese. There were a lot of wide boulevards and then you would pass these very narrow streets. Most of the people seem to ride motorcycles - there were even large parking lots marked off with spaces just for motorcycles! We saw the 101 building - picture included - that our guide said was the tallest in the world. Supposed to look like bamboo which it does - kind of. It is certainly taller than anything else in Taipei! Then we went to the Chiang Kai Shek memorial which was beautiful. We got there in time to see the changing of the guards. The grounds were fantastic - beautiful gardens and wonderful buildings - the buildings are theaters for the symphony, etc. Then we went to the National Palace Museum which holds all the artifacts that the people were able to carry out of Mainland China in 1949 when the Communists took over. Our guide kept calling Beijing Peking - like the whole revolution had never taken place. She said the treasures left in the museum in China were the ones that were too large to carry. We saw pottery dating to 600 BC and beautiful ivory carvings - some of which took 3 generations to carve. And wonderful painted and glazed pottery from the Ming dynasty which ended in the late 1200s! We got back to the ship and noticed a huge statue on top of the hill across the port from us - picture included. We are not sure what it is a statue of - not Buddha - too thin - and not Confucius - no beard - but it is huge and certainly overlooks the harbor. Also included in the pictures is a stop sign - can you read it?

Feb. 27

2-27: On the way to Exmouth we had the best laugh of the trip when we spotted on the menu the dessert called Spotted Dick with Vanilla Sauce - picture included. We both read it at the same time and started laughing hysterically. Our tablemates really wondered if we had lost our minds until we showed it to them! You can imagine what we thought might appear when we ordered it! We still laugh every time we think about it! Yesterday was our last stop in Australia - well, kind of. We anchored off shore outside of Exmouth which is in the far NW corner of Australia. Exmouth is a town of 2400 people that was established in 1962 when the US and Australia jointly developed a communications center. There are large radio towers on the coast. The temperature yesterday in Exmouth was about 36C which is about 97F and there were swarms and swarms of flies! Ginnie and I decided to stay on board and EVERYONE who came back from town said we were wise to have done so. Not much in town - seems the only thing we really missed was seeing emus wandering the “city” streets! Picture of the desolate coastline of Exmouth included - maybe we found a part of Australia where we do not want to live. Our day was very nice - quiet and relatively peopleless!

Feb. 25

2-25: Yesterday we were in Perth which is the capital of Western Australia. Western Australia is 3 times the size of Texas and has a population of about 2 million, 2/3 of whom live in the Freemantle-Perth metroplex. And over a third of that population is under 24! Freemantle is the port city for Perth which is about 11 miles inland. So once you get out of the city there is nothing but wide open spaces which they call the bush. Once again we found Australia fantastic - a beautiful place. Our tour took us by bus into Perth - we stopped at a large park that contained their was memorial and overlooked the city of Perth and the Swan River. I’ve included a picture of Aussie school girls who were obviously participating in an art class - they were all drawing the city. Then we drove through the business district and down to the river where we caught a boat to take us back to Freemantle. The boat ride was great. We saw some dolphins. The boat driver tried to get them to play in the wake but they did not cooperate. All along the river there were huge homes - there are the ultra-rich everywhere. One house, which was huge and garish, was the summer home of some businessman from Singapore! Ginnie and I sampled a local - really local we passed the brewery - beer called Swan Draught and decided it was the best so far. Once back into the Freemantle port we boarded the bus again for a short tour of Freemantle which is also a very nice town. Really a great place - miles and miles of coastline that has very little built on it. Many green parks throughout the cities. Beautiful and uncrowned. Australia gets our vote as one of the greatest places on earth. After we got back to the boat we took a nice nap. The time changes are taking there toll - the 3 nights between Adelaide and Perth we turned our clocks back each night - half an hour once and then an hour twice! Today is a sea day and tomorrow is Exmouth - a town of 2400 people.

Feb. 22

2-21: Today we were in Adelaide. At 9:30 we left the ship and met Kathy and her significant other, Cedric, on the pier. Cedric took Bill and Susan and Ginnie and I went with Kathy. She took all around Adelaide. The picture of the statue is of William Light who decided where the city would be and how it would be laid out.. Turns our he is an ancestor of Kathy’s late husband. Then we went up Mt. Lofty - the picture from the mountain shows Adelaide down below and the ocean in the background. Then we went through a German town which was very beautiful - pretty rose bushes all over the place. Then we went on to Mt. Barker which is where Betty lives and where we were going to meet Betty and her daughter for lunch. We were early so Kathy dropped us at a pub while she went to fill her car with petrol. By the way petrol is 1.20 or so per liter - that makes it well over 4 bucks a gallon! Ginnie and I tried another Aussie beer - Victoria Bitters or VB. It was pretty good. Then we went on to lunch which was nice. At lunch we drank what all these Aussies think is the best Australian beer - Coopers Pale Ale - it was quite good. After lunch we went to Betty’s daughter’s farm. She raises alpacas - hence the pictures. The little black one was 3 months old and was too cute. Also got to pet a dog so that was wonderful.. We had strawberries and ice cream and real cream - very good. And Betty whose husband had mined and polished opals gave each of us an opal to take home! Good heavens - these women were so nice to us - we were amazed! They are really great - we had such a beautiful day! Then we headed back down out of the hills back to the ship. We started to get a little nervous about getting back on time - just barely got back at 5:30 which was when we were supposed to be back. The whole day was great - it was really nice to see where and how people live instead of being on a tour of some sort - absolutely great. But we are pooped and headed to bed. We set our clocks back half an hour last night - HALF AN HOUR!! - we do the other half tonight. So now - when it is 9:30 pm Tuesday here right now - it is 5:30 am Tuesday in Dallas.

Feb. 20

Okay - now I know you all are tired of the word BEAUTIFUL but yesterday we saw the most beautiful sights! We took a day trip - and it was all day, over 12 hours - along the Great Ocean Road west from Melbourne. The road was built during the depression by WWI veterans - kind of like our CCC projects. It goes along the coastline - often on cliffs well above the ocean. The views are magnificent. It twists and turns and goes up and down and Ginnie wore herself out helping the bus driver stay on the road! The driver even joked about his co-drivers in the front seat! We were driving through one section of Eucalyptus trees when the bus pulled over so that we could see koalas in the wild - there they were just up in the trees eating which is about all they do. Koala - in Aborigine - means animal who doesn’t drink or something like that. Koalas get all the moisture they need from the eucalyptus leaves. You will have to look hard at that picture to see the koala! We stopped for lunch in a nice beach town at a restaurant with a view that was spectacular. The coast line is not at all over built the way any coast line in America is. Ginnie was talking to the guide who said you could get a nice acre of land near where we were overlooking the ocean for about $60,000 - that would be per square foot and not half so pretty on most of America’s coast! Then on to the main attractions for the day. We stopped at a National Park called The Twelve Apostles. You had to walk a ways to see the 12 Apostles so Ginnie took a HELICOPTER ride! Can you believe it?!!! I, of course, decided that we need pictures from both perspectives and stayed firmly planted on the ground! Pictures are included. The cliffs and the pillars and the arches are mammoth and magnificent. It is also called the shipwreck coast - many shipwrecks along the cliffs. Even one that they discovered in the mid-1800s that dated from the 1500s. After the Twelve Apostles we went to Loch Ard Gorge where a couple of teenagers were the only two to survive a shipwreck. The pictures included show, from the air, the gorge with a pillar in its entrance and from the ground you can see it is an arch! After Loch Ard Gorge we went to a small beach town called Port Campbell for afternoon tea. Then on to our last sight - London Bridge. It was a formation that had two arches and was connected to the mainland until 1991 when the arch closest to the mainland collapsed into the sea. The people in the area feared that many would be dead because people were allowed to walk out to the end of the arches. But when it collapsed that morning there were only two people on the arch and they were stranded until a helicopter came to pick them up. They were lucky - but then again maybe not so lucky since their respective spouses thought they were off on business trips and their pictures were splashed all over the news! On they way back to Melbourne we took an interior highway and it too was beautiful - great rolling hills with dairy farms all over. We didn’t get back to the ship until about 8:45 so it was a couple of beers and bar snacks for dinner. Then bed. Fantastic day! On to Adelaide where our ex-tablemates are going to give us a tour since they both live there.

Feb. 17

2-16: We arrived in Sydney yesterday morning before the sun even came up because we had to be docked before rush hour since they use a lot of ferries to get around. Sydney Harbor is very impressive and it is huge. We had two tours scheduled for yesterday - a bus tour in the morning and a boat tour of the harbor in the afternoon. Both were really nice. The bus tour took us around different sections of the city then to Bondi Beach where we were able to spend about half an hour. Really nice beach - really nice city. Then in the afternoon we saw a lot of the areas we had seen in the morning that from the water. They have a lot of green space in Sydney which helps make the city really beautiful. There is a section of the city called The Rocks which is the original city of Sydney right on the harbor’s edge. A guide told us that in the early 60s they almost tore all of the old buildings down but the preservationists saved the area. It is a good thing they did - it is great. Today we walked around The Rocks - all of the narrow old houses have been turned into shops and restaurants and some of the small streets are just walk ways now. We had lunch at a wonderful Italian restaurant in the Rocks - great pizza for me and pasta for Ginnie. We tried various Aussie beers today and we liked the one we had at lunch - Carlton Cold - the best. After lunch we went by ferry to another section of Sydney called Darling Harbor. The part that we went to was basically a mall - even had a store called Colorado! It was nice - lots of restaurants too - with outside eating. And the wildest food court I’ve ever seen - you could get anything! It started to rain while we were there and we went into a café to have a drink while we waited for the ferry to take us back to the ship. Thunder and lightening and all. The ride back on the boat was great. Then we walked in the rain back to the ship. Once back we did our laundry - we decided this would be the best time to brave the dreaded laundry because a lot of people got off the ship today and a lot were getting on taking their place. We decided all of the people getting off would take their dirty clothes home with them and those getting on would bring clean clothes! It was pretty peaceful down there which was good. Tomorrow we have a tour in the morning - a Wildlife Encounter - which should be fun then on to Melbourne.

2-17: The Wildlife Encounter this morning was great. Pictures included of us with a wombat and then separately with a koala. We also saw kangaroos and kookaburras! Australia definitely wins the prize for the most strange animals. Watching the kangaroos was fun - you went right in the pen with them. The picture is of a young one sticking its head in its mother’s pouch. It was great. Then we took a river cat back to the harbor. Saw a lot of beautiful houses. I know you are getting tired of the word beautiful BUT no other word describes Sydney! One of the pictures show people walking up the Harbor Bridge. You pay $175 to spend 3 hours climbing up the bridge and coming back down! I’m sure the view is great BUT … After lunch we went up on deck to watch us finally leave Sydney Harbor. Since we had come into the harbor in the dark it was great to see us leave. Hundreds of sailboats out. And such a fantastic place. One picture included is the lighthouse on one side of the harbor entrance and the ocean waves breaking on the ocean side cliffs. Once again BEAUTIFUL. On to Melbourne now. Oh - the picture of the bacon is for Car - when you order bacon and toast in the morning they give you a whole plate full!!!!

Feb. 14

2-14: HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY TO ALL! Happy Birthday, Jen! Spent yesterday doing our typical sea day routine - trivia, bridge, etc. Last night was the Captain’s dinner - they have one at the end of each leg and Sydney is an end point - lots of people getting off and lots getting on. They do the Baked Alaska parade etc. And it was also Ginnie’s birthday so we had her birthday cake and the waiters all sang - know you Birmingham kids are glad to know she didn’t get away with anonymity this year! The pictures included today are of: our clothes chair (take note Judy); our waiters - Leucile and Ben; our tablemates the Aussie ladies and the Salt Lake couple; Ginnie’s birthday cake; and us at our table in the Chart Room! Tomorrow Australia - we are sooooo excited!

Feb. 13

Feb. 13: Yesterday we were in Wellington - our last stop in New Zealand. It is a beautiful place. The mountains come right down to the city. We went on a tour that took us up Mt. Victoria for views of the city and then took us to a cable car which went up the side of a hill to the Botanic Gardens. The gardens were amazing! Beautiful roses and then they had a begonia house. Never knew that begonias grew to such size. Picture included! Then we went to an old church made entirely of wood. It was beautiful - the windows were great but the wood was amazing. It had been built 1866. No longer used as a church but is still used for weddings, etc. After that we toured the city - saw the government buildings and embassies. Being a Sunday most places were closed. So we came back to the ship and enjoyed a restful afternoon on the deck. It was our first mostly sunny day we had had in quite a while. Temperature was cool and it was pretty windy. Our best deal of the trip were $10 (New Zealand dollars so only about $6.50 US) phone cards! It was great to talk to those of you we talked to. From New Zealand no less. By my second trip to the phones the lines were long and I hated to take up too much phone time! We went to the Sail-Away party on deck yesterday afternoon. Hearing the Caribbean band Opus singing Low Places was really quite humorous but it was a beautiful day and the scenery couldn’t have been better. The wind was really strong and there was a beautiful rainbow across the water caused by the wind blown spray - look closely at the picture. This morning when we opened our door to go to breakfast there were some flowers for Ginnie - they were from our waitress, Lucille, and our waiter, Benjamin. It was really nice of them - they are great. All for now. Two sea days until Sydney. Also included is a picture of the Maori dancers from our day in Rotorua.

Feb. 11

Feb. 8: Coming into Auckland Harbor was beautiful! It is cool - 70s - with some sun and some showers. Great weather. We have tours this afternoon and tomorrow morning so not sure when this will get posted to the internet. IN NEW ZEALAND! Who’d have thunk??!! It is so exciting!!!

Feb. 10: Today was great BUT it rained all day long! Poured then drizzled then poured again! Our trip to Rotorua was nice - it is about an hour from Tauranga. We left at 8:30 and stopped at a nice lakeside hotel for morning tea. Just what we needed after eating a big breakfast! But they had excellent fresh squeezed orange juice! Then we went on to Rotorua which is more like Hot Springs, Arkansas than Yellowstone. There was a spa that had been built in 1908 to draw people from England to “take the cure” - that would have been quit a trip in 1908!! The old bath house is a museum now. Before the bath house was built, there had been “the pink terraces” which were hot pools terraced down the side of a mountain toward the sea. They had been a tourist attraction since the early 1870s. Well, in 1886 Mt. Tarawera erupted and buried the pink terraces under feet of lava and ash. The whole area is very active not only volcanically but also thermally. We were glad none of the mountains blew their tops while we were there! It is a very fascinating area. It is very beautiful country - lakes and hills - and so GREEN! We went through the major kiwi growing area - kiwi grow on vines very much like grapes in a vineyard. We would have though they were vineyards without a guide. They have to be shielded from the wind because if they bump together they get bruised and become seconds! Then we had lunch at this unbelievable place! A 7000 square foot 5 bedroom house on a peninsula which jutted out into one of the lakes. This house can be rented for $1000 per person per day! It sleeps up to 10 but can be rented in its entirety by only one person for 1000 a day. That includes staff to clean up after you and cook your meals! It was an amazing house - absolutely stunning - 9 TV’s and a media room! It was too bad that the weather was so crummy that we couldn’t get out and look around the grounds. The Captain said the seas would be rough tonight - he hasn’t said that before! We have a sea day tomorrow - we will actually get the BLOG posted - before getting to Wellington on Sunday. We had 72 beers and Caesar salads in our room. Good night!

Feb. 7

Feb. 6: SUPER BOWL MONDAY! First of all last night - we came back to our cabin at 9 and found out we had to turn our clocks back again and decided 8 was really too early to go to bed! SO we took our 20’s to the casino to play the slots! I lost my 20 very quickly but Ginnie kept just hanging on. UNTIL she hit a 7 with two Triple Diamonds and won 900 quarters!! WOW! It was heavy until it was turned into paper. Then of course we had to go have a celebratory drink! Now on to today. We got up early and made our terrible towels out of a stained yellow shirt! They are beautiful as you will see! We were in the bar where the game was to start at 10 by 7:15 staking out our seats. When the TV came on about 8:45 it was in Spanish - see attached picture of the screen. There were a lot of unhappy Americans come 10 when it was still in Spanish! About coin toss time we did start getting an English override but all the ads were still in Spanish! They had quite a crowd but Steeler fans were in the definite minority and we were the only ones with terrible towels! They were serving what they considered American delicacies - even POPCORN! Lunch was hot dogs and pizza and hamburgers and what they called Texas chili served with a nice little tower of rice! Because we had booked a tour on New Caledonia we had to leave with Pittsburgh ahead 21 to 10 with 6 minutes left in the game. We were glad to see that that was the final score. Supposedly we will get a rerun of the game at 5 - maybe then we can catch the end! Our tour of New Caledonia was on a petit train (like a parking lot tram) which took us around the city of Noumea and up to a nice overlook. The island is really very pretty but the town of Noumea itself is not wonderful.

LATER: We went up to have a few beers before dinner and had more than a few and decided dinner in the room was in order. It was good. All in all it has been a very good day.

Feb 5

Feb. 4: We were in Fiji today and the city we docked in - Lautoka - was not a delightful place. We headed off the ship about 10 and it was so hot and humid that Ginnie decided she could not walk to the shuttle bus. She couldn’t breathe in the humidity. So I went on the shuttle by myself and it was definitely not worth the effort. The bus had natural air-conditioning otherwise known as no windows! It took us to the center of town and dropped us off in front of the only nice store in town. I wandered a couple of blocks and went in some of the stores but found nothing too exciting. The best part of Fiji was the sunrise and the sunset and we were coming and then going - pictures of both are included. Ginnie and I went to the movies this afternoon - we saw Spanglish which was pretty good. Seemed like a good thing to do when there was no bridge and it was too hot to sit outside. Then beer, dinner, and CSI and now it is bedtime. The other 2 pictures I’ve included are of our lovely weather in Samoa - those white spots are raindrops and the picture of the tug from our porthole shows how windy it was. They had to keep the tug there to keep the ship up against the dock! All for now. On to New Caledonia where we have a tour lined up. Of course - that is Monday - which is Super Bowl Monday - yes, Super Bowl Monday. The game is on at 10 am. Our tour is in the afternoon and if the game is still going on and close we might not take the tour.

Feb 4

Feb. 1: Today was Pago Pago where Ginnie and I were going skip shore excursions and do laundry. Well, the day dawned gray and rainy as we pulled into the Pago Pago harbor and the captain had a hard time even docking the ship. It required a tug pushing against us to keep us at the dock. All trips were canceled and the captain announced that we would be leaving shortly after noon instead of at 6pm. The “fools” that got off the ship were soaked to the skin in a very short time. And then they made our trip to the laundry even worse because they were all wanting to come in and dry their wet clothes! The laundry situation is the pits - people were saying there had even been fisticuffs a couple of days ago. We decided that “they” want to make doing laundry a miserable experience so that we will use their laundry services at exorbitant prices! Anyhow, after laundry we went to lunch and then to bridge where we discovered that we had come in 4th yesterday and earned another .18 master point so we now have a whole point!! Bridge was fun today - we are getting better. Then we went to the Chart Room for our afternoon beers - had a couple of extras and decided eating in our room was a good idea tonight. We have ordered and are happy puppies! The seas are really pretty rough tonight. Supposedly there is a cyclone somewhere in the South Pacific - you guys should check the weather for us and let us know what we are in for. At the moment we are headed from Pago Pago to Fiji! All for now. Dinner is here and CSI is on the “telly”!

Feb. 3: After dinner in our room last night we went to sleep early only to wake up and discover that we had crossed the International Date Line and it was now Friday the 3rd. No February 2nd for us this year. Don’t quit grasp the concept of where the day went BUT we’re taking it on faith. We guess that we get back on your day somewhere!

Jan 31

Jan 30: Today we crossed the Equator. There is a Crossing the Line ceremony that they do aboard ships - though people who have been across before on other ships say they have never seen anything like this before. People who have not crossed the equator before are called pollywogs and the initiation ceremony supposedly dates back to the 14th century. It is led by King Neptune. The Daily Program this morning said that in the olden times “Pollywogs would be coated with various nasty liquids found in the bilge of the ship and then suspended by the ankles and plunged into the sea.” In today’s world they put eggs and spaghetti and catsup and green/brown/pink/yellow pudding like stuff on people and throw them in the pool! Ginnie and I - though we have not crossed the equator opted out of participating BUT we lucked into perfect seats to watch the ceremony. We were perched right on the edge of the pool. It was great. The captain was even tossed into the pool though not for being a pollywog. It was amazing to see this dignified captain in his nice white uniform in the pool - his picture is included. They did all of the passengers first and then they did the new crew members. By the time they got to the crew they were really plastering them with all of the gunk. By the end the pool was absolutely disgusting! But I was back out on deck late this afternoon and it was all cleaned up and they were refilling the pool with water being pumped up from the ocean! Both Ginnie and I got a lot of sun today sitting out at the ceremony for an hour and a half - at noon on the equator!! We are turning brown as berries already and we have a long way to go! One more day until Pago Pago - this 4 days at sea is one of the longer stints without a stop. What’s not to like though!

Jan 30

Jan 29: Our at sea days are becoming fairly routine - up early, eat in the Pavilion which is the only place that opens before 8, sit on the deck in the sun, go to trivia or a lecture, go to lunch, play bridge, go to the Chart Room for beer, come back to the room to dress for dinner (we would love to skip this step), eat dinner, come back to the room for a couple CSIs, then bed. Last night we skipped a Captain’s cocktail party but were invited to another tonight so we are going to go. This will be our 3rd - free booze, “what’s not to like?” Last night was too much. Pago Pago and Fiji don’t sound too exciting so we will probably just visit the pier shops and stay on the ship. 100 bucks for a trip to a beach on an unair-conditioned bus didn’t sound like a good deal to us. Yesterday we were #1 in bridge!!! We would get 0.9 of a master point if we were members of the ACBL!! It was very exciting! Today maybe not so good but we are having fun playing even though some of the “gentlemen” are not at all nice to their wives! We know at least 3 we would bop in the nose if they were ours! Thank God for small favors! TV is still the pits. Last night they did not even have our CSIs for us and right now - before dinner - we are watching Austin City Limits on PBS because there is nothing else! As news junkies we are really suffering. All for now. No pictures today.

Addendum: We 6 managed to scarf down 4 free beers at the Captain’s reception and we promised Chris - our favorite Chart Room waiter - that we would have a blue drink tomorrow. He wanted us to have one tonight BUT after 8 beers this was probably not a good idea. So tomorrow - after bridge we may not drink until after we have dressed for dinner so that Chris, who comes on duty at 6, can sell us our blue drink! All for now - definitely bedtime.

Jan 28

Jan. 27: Hawaii was great. My 50th state!!! This morning we were on deck as we pulled into Honolulu harbor. We got to watch sun rise over Diamond Head. It was fantastic. Then we left on our tour to the Arizona Memorial. It was a great place. First we saw a 20 - 25 minute film which was really good. Then we took the launch out to the memorial which is really pretty. Amazing to think that after 64 years that the ship has not completely disappeared in the salt water. After the trip to the Arizona memorial our bus took us around Honolulu. We went to the Punchbowl which is he National Cemetery. Then by the palaces of the Hawaiian Kingdom or Empire or whatever they called it. It was a nice tour. When we got back to the pier we browsed the shops for a while. Ginnie tried to pay for something with a travelers check and when she pulled it out it was one of mine. The ones in my purse were mine too! Then we came back to the ship to rest for a while. At about 5:30 we headed out to Harbor Pub and Pizza. Last year when we were in Clearwater Beach Jenny called us from Hawaii and said the it was the best pizza in the world. Since we were enjoying an Angelo’s pizza at that time we disagreed with her. SO - we decided to do a taste test! Sorry Jen - Angelo’s wins though Harbor pizza was pretty damn good - especially after eating fancy food for the last 18 days! When we came out of the pub we were treated to our own fireworks show. I don’t know what the fireworks were for but it was enjoyable. The cab ride to the pizza place cost 19 dollars so Ginnie decided to become frugal on the way home. So there we are waiting for a bus on a busy street in Honolulu. I asked her if she would take a bus in Pittsburgh after dark - told her I wouldn’t take one in Dallas! Some nice Chinese lady sat down next to me at the bus stop and patted my leg asking if I wasn’t cold - definitely shorts and t-shirt weather as far as we were concerned but she was bundled up in long pants and a jacket! The bus finally came and our ride back to the ship only cost 4 dollars - though we did have to walk a couple of blocks to the ship. All in all it was a very good day. Ship leaves at 11:30 this evening and we are at sea for 4 days until we get to Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango - don’t know where they get the n sound!) in American Samoa. Enjoy the pictures of Hawaii.

Jan 26

Jan. 24: Since we are now writing the BLOG off line and cutting and pasting - works for the entries but not the pictures - we thought we could write a little more - that 50 cents a minutes was hampering us! Some of the things we couldn’t afford to tell you about are as follows. Our favorite bar is called the Chart Room where we go every afternoon to slurp beer. We were afraid we were going to have to change our favorite bar because some obnoxious woman sat with us one day and seemed to think we were her new best friends in the space of 10 minutes! Luckily she has found other new best friends! It is our favorite place in spite of the fact that a devotional bible study group meets in one corner during our drinking time. We’ve gotten more religious education during our beer time than we have had since Sunday school days! Also - many MANY people do this trip every year! Boggles the mind. We understand that the record is like 30 times! Yikes!! We are very happy to be doing this this year BUT once is enough! Included is a picture (though not a good one) of the Dive of the QE2 - she has 3 books about herself in the bookstore and does occasional book signings. I happened to catch her act - which was the grand finale of the passenger talent show - and she should have given up singing 20 years ago! But they allow her to warble on to her heart’s content on this ship! Ginnie missed the talent show - says she got to catch it next time. I was glad she wasn’t there because we would not have been able to not giggle out loud! Also included is a picture of the security that was all around the ship in LA where we participated in a Chinese fire drill forced by US Immigration! Everyone had to get off of the ship and do a custom’s declaration and show their passport. Then we were not allowed back on until everyone had gotten off. Thank heavens we did not get off until close to the end! We were not happy puppies but received an apology from the Captain this morning! People watching is still our favorite pastime - it certainly takes all kinds to make the world go round!

Jan 25: Internet was not working yesterday - hopefully, we will be able to get on line this morning. Last night Ginnie and I came back to the room to dress for dinner -AGAIN - and decided we had had it! So we ordered room service and had burgers and beer in our room and were VERY HAPPY!! We watched a movie on TV and then watched our two CSI episodes and went to bed! We think that may become a once a week respite from the formality of this place! Also included is a picture of Ginnie and I in Panama.

jan 22 no 2

julie didn't tell you about how i got snookered in the jewelry store. i saw a cute owl pendant but was shocked at the price of 345.00. after offers and counter offers,i said i'd pay 150.00 and no more. will, shiver me timbers, they said ok.so i am now the proud owner of an owl pendant which is probably worth 125.00 oh well.

Jan 22

We have been without internet for a couple of days - I assume that will keep happening as we sail around.  Acapulco was a lot of fun.  We left the ship around 8:30 and took a tender into shore.  Then we boarded a bus for our tour.  We went to see the cliff divers and they were great - we really enjoyed them.  Of course going into and out of the place to watch we were accosted by many many Mexicans selling everything - table cloths to necklaces to pupets to hats - you name it they were selling it.  After the cliff divers we went to a jewelry store where they offered us beer and margaritas!  Drinking Corona in a jewelry store at 10 in the morning was definitely a first!  They did have some beautiful stuff but it got to the point that I didn't want to show any interest because the sales people would pounce!  Then we toured more of Acapulco - I tell you they all drive like maniacs - you should have seen our BUS making a u-turn on the main street!  The tour ended at a beautiful hotel called the Acapulco Princess where we had more free drinks!  Then the hair raising trip back to the pier.  Acapulco Bay is beautiful and the hotel was great but neither Ginnie or I think we would want to go out and about in the city!  Here are pictures of the cliff divers and the QE2 in the harbor and the mariachi band at the Acapulco Princess.

Jan 18 #2

Since it seems to be working here are a couple of pictures of the ship - just for you Car!

Jan 18

This BLOG thing is not working too well - actually the BLOG would work fine it is AOL that is not working too well.  There is a sign that says AOL often does not work well on the ship so we may see what else we can do - maybe we will have to change the BLOG address, but if we do we will post it here.  So if you are checking and there are not new entries it is not because we are not trying!

The Panama Canal was great - we had a beautiful day BUT it is HOT in this part of the world.  We went through the canal with a large container ship going through the locks next to us so we could really see the the water level rising on the Atlantic side and lowering on the Pacific side.  An absolute engineering marvel!  We passed the Continental Divide but there was no sign like in the mountains - I was disappointed!  I think we were at about 88 feet!

Yesterday our tour of Panama City was nice.  Our tour guide - Javier - was a great guy.  We saw a lot of nice areas and also what they call a red zone which basically means stay away from here.  He said even the Panamanians don't go into the red zones because it is too dangerous.  Some of the old military bases are being reconditioned to become luxury apartments.  It was very nice.  Our luncheon was good and the folklorio dancers were great.  I am going to TRY to put some pictures of the canal on - wish me luck!

Jan 15

Yesterday was Curacao.  When we were coming into port we were up on the bow watching.  We stopped short of the channel into the port and the tugs and pilot boats seemed to be pushing and pulling.  We thought that the captain had run us aground.  However, when we went to the shore side of the ship, we realized we were docked!  Our story was much better.  Then in town we took a trolley train around to see the sights.  The buildings are all painted different colors.  The story goes that they were all white but the governor said that all of the sunshine reflecting off the white buildings was giving him headaches so he ordered them painted different colors.  Seems he owned the paint factory!  But they are pretty.  We are playing bridge this afternoon as we are both still a little crisp from our sunbathing day before yesterday.  I'm having trouble getting the pictures on but will try to include one from Curacao.  Too slow - I'll try again next time.

jan 12

Yesterday we were in Fort Lauderdale so not much went on on the ship.  We did get off the ship to go to a drug store - mainly to buy hangers.  22 dollars in cab rides later we were back on the ship with our purchases which of course lacked hangers!  We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sun and then went to the sailing party at the Funnel Bar on the top deck of the ship as we left Ft. Lauderdale.  It was great - they had a band and people were dancing and the weather was great.  As we went down the canal the people along the shore in the houses and condos were all ringing cow bells and blowing airhorns and waving!  People watching is our favorite passtime though we did start our bridge lessons this morning and will play this afternoon.  All fro now.  I'm trying to add a picture BUT seem to be having a bit of a problem.

Day 1

Here is the Statue of Liberty as we left New York.  We were late leaving - 6pm instead of 4:45 so the captain has been driving like a bat out of hell to make up the time lost time.  No land in sight.  Tomorrow - Ft. Lauderdale.

The weather is warm.  Sat outside on the deck for a while.  Played a game of trivia - will go to the movies this afternoon.  Food is GREAT!

More later. 

Itinerary

Thought perhaps the itinerary was they way to start this BLOG - thanks to Ginnie's kids for the idea.  We'll see. This is basically just a test.

January

9 New York, NY     11 Fort Lauderdale, FL     14 Willemstad, Curacao     16 Panama Canal    

17 Fuerte Amador, Panama     20 Acapulco, Mexico     23 Los Angeles, CA     27 Honolulu, HI

February

1 Pago Pago, American Samoa     4 Lautoka, Fiji     6 Noumea, New Caledonia

8 -9 Aukland, New Zealand     10 Tauranga, New Zealand     12 Wellington, New Zealand

15-17 Sydney, Australia     18 Phillip Island, Australia     19 Melbourne, Australia

21 Adelaide, Australia     24 Perth, Australia     26 Exmouth, Australia

March

4 Taipai, Taiwan     6 Kobe, Japan     8 Kagoshima, Japan     10-11 Shanghai, China

13-15 Hong Kong, China     18-19 Bangkok, Thailand     21 Singapore     22 Penang, Malaysia

23 Phuket, Thailand     26 Colombo, Sri Lanka     27 Cochin, India     29-30 Mumbai, India (Bombay)

April

2-3 Dubai, United Arab Emirates     5 Salalah, Oman     9 Safaga, Egypt     10 Aqaba, Jordan

12 Suez Canal     13 Alexandria, Egypt     15 Piraeus, Greece (Athens)   

17 Civitavecchia, Italy (Rome)     19 Valencia, Spain     20 Lisbon, Portugal

23 Southampton, England     29 New York, NY