Kaenae Peninsula, Maui

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I've been blessed with a good life.  I arise each day anticipating the opportunities that lie ahead.  Dawn and Brett are now adults with lives of their own.  With fewer demands for my time at home, I have been able to travel.  There have been memorable sights with each journey and I photographed many.  Below are some of my favorites.

HAWAII - 1990

Hawaii is the United States' little piece of off-shore paradise.  I still recall visiting sandy beaches where Roy and I were the only people as far as we could see.  I also remember looking at what I thought was freshly tilled black soil and then realizing it was a field of sterile, cold lava.

ALASKA - 1998

Roy had passed away, but that didn't preclude my visiting other interesting places.  The first was an Alaskan cruise with a three-day extension that included a visit to Denali.  I still remember the majesty of the mountains juxtaposed against the silence of the wilderness.  Denali is generally shrouded by clouds, but on the day of our visit, the sky was sunny.  A review of the cruise is posted here.

PANAMA CANAL - 1999

After traveling outside the 48 states, I was eager to go farther and be gone longer.  Since the Panama Canal was to be relinquished to Panama on December 31, this became the itinerary for my next cruise.  This was also my first experience traveling alone.  Although I enjoy having a friend with me to share the experience, I learned that independent travel has its benefits, too, and I would not hesitate to travel alone again.  My thoughts about the cruise are here.

AMERICAN SOUTHWEST - 1999

Mom and Dad moved to southern Arizona after Dad retired, and visits to see them always included outings to hike mountain trails.  I relished those trips, but always wanted to go farther, see more.  Eventually I took a bus tour through the Four Corners region. These are pictures of some of the sites visited.

EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN - 2000

The next trip was back on the water for the "Three Continent Grand Cruise."  The itinerary included Greek islands of Europe; Cairo, Egypt, in Africa; and Istanbul, Turkey, in Asia.  Memories of walking the rutted cart paths of Ephesus and standing at the Parthenon remain strong.  The cruise summary is here.

SCANDINAVIA AND THE BALTIC SEA - 2002

Just as I'd never expected to take that first cruise to Alaska, neither did I anticipate another which would include ports of call in the Scandinavian countries; Gdansk, Poland; and St. Petersburg, Russia.  People everywhere were friendly and nearly all spoke English.  Highlights included a boat trip up Lysefjord in Norway, a train trip into the mountains of Norway, and a bus trip into Gdansk's Old Town.  Most astounding were the two days in St. Petersburg, where the opulence of the palaces which are now museums left us shaking our heads in wonder.  The link to a review of the cruise posted on-line has been suspended, so you'll now find it here.  Click Fjords & Faberge to see pictures taken on the cruise.  Select the "slideshow" option for easy viewing.

WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN - 2003

In October I joined Teresa for what was my second visit to the Mediterranean.  Previous cruise land tours for both of us have been taken on ship-sponsored excursions.  This time we decided to step away from that security and contracted with independent driver/guides for five of our port visits.  Other passengers interested in sharing the advantages of touring with a smaller party contacted me, and within a few weeks we had filled the available seats.  Thoughts regarding the cruise and use of private drivers are posted here.  To see pictures taken on the cruise with ports of call in Venice, Dubrovnik, Athens, Santorini, Naples, Rome, Florence, Villefranche and Barcelona, click here.  At the Fotki site, select the folder for Western Mediterranean - 2003.

WESTERN CARIBBEAN - 2004

The first of two cruises planned for this year was on Princess Cruise Lines' recently christened 3,150-passenger Caribbean Princess.  This cruise, with Western Caribbean ports of call, was her fifth week at sea and any problems that can be expected with a new ship appeared to have been corrected.  The food was great (was it because Princess's executive chef was in the kitchen?), the weather fantastic and the port excursions what we expected.  Stops included Princess Cays (Princess's private island); Montego Bay, Jamaica; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel.  I didn't write a review of this cruise because I had nothing to add to the multitude already posted on cruise review sites.  It was a relaxing week compared to our European cruises.  We spent our time on the ship relaxing poolside or on our balcony.  Pictures from the cruise are on my Fotki web page.  Click on the Western Caribbean Cruise folder.

NEW ENGLAND AND CANADA - 2004

Our wish was to take a September or October cruise to see the foliage, but costs were considerably higher for those sailings.  Ultimately we realized that it would be nice to see the color the Northeast is known for, but that wasn't our primary reason for selecting this itinerary.  We were just as interested in the scenery.  And as we cruised from port to port, we were pleased that this had been our choice for a fall cruise.  You may read a review of our week on the Maasdam here.

Over the years Teresa had traveled to Boston for business, but she'd never had the opportunity or time to see the city as a tourist.  Thus, we selected Boston as our port of embarkation and flew in separately three days early in order to visit historical sights in the Boston area before the cruise began.

Seeing Boston as a visitor is easy to do.  On Thursday we boarded a trolley for a 'round town tour and we spent Friday listening to audio guides as we followed the 2.5-mile-long Freedom Trail.  The walk was easy, mostly level, but I'm glad we were able to hop on the trolley for a ride back into the city!  Without it, I'm afraid I may have had to crawl those last few hundred yards back to the hotel.

We boarded the ship on Saturday and by evening had unpacked and were anticipating port visits to Bar Harbor, Maine; Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; Charlottetown ("Anne of Green Gables"), Prince Edward Island; and Quebec City, Quebec.  Our "sea day" was spent on the St. Lawrence, with a side trip into Sanquenay Fjord with the hope that we'd see whales that inhabit the area.  No such luck!

Of course we took lots of pictures.  Digital cameras encourage such behavior.  Those I kept are on the Fotki photo web page.  Click on the New England/Canada Cruise folder and then on "slideshow" for easy viewing.

WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN - 2006

I enjoyed this trip and the itinerary so much when Teresa and I took this cruise in 2003 that I wanted to share the excitement with Dawn.  Therefore, once she got clearance from Matt that he would watch Brandon and Sophia while we were gone, I made reservations.

I was able to add our names to private tours where room was available and booked two tours myself with drivers we'd used before: Marcus in Athens and Gennaro in Naples.  I was pleased that although I'd anticipated seeing no more than what I saw three years ago, each tour included something new for me.  Dawn has reassured me many times that even though she did arrive home weary and needing a vacation, she thoroughly enjoyed herself -- the cruise and the itinerary.  (I hope so -- because she took over 900 pictures!) A review of the cruise is posted here.  To see pictures taken on the cruise, click here.  At the Fotki site, select the folder for Western Mediterranean - 2006.