Hilo — the Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Garden, geckos, Café 100, green sand, and Big Island Beef Jerky

On our additional day at sea, we wandered the decks of the Pride of America. We sat in on a napoleon pastry-making demonstration in the Mardi Gras Lounge. One of the two dessert napoleons that were projected on demonstration screen ended up on our table. The chef gave away his two creations and we were […]

Aboard the Pride of America

We checked out of The Equus before noon and Lyft-ed our way to Pier 2 of Honolulu Harbour, where Norwegian’s Pride of America was docked. While at sea, an altered itinerary Around 9 a.m. the next day, as Maui our first port was within sight, the captain gave an announcement throughout the ship that our […]

On the way to the Pride of America

Here we go again! This time, on another trip to Hawaii. The sights below As we flew westward from Los Angeles, here was an unusual sight. A snow-capped mountain range, a fog-shrouded valley, and the Pacific Coast Highway in the foreground, somewhere just before Santa Barbara. Clouds covered much of Oahu, but where they parted, […]

Snakes, Bats, and Brunch

This post will be combining our final two days in Kentucky. But first, a lingo question — What is the proper way, the local’s way, to pronounce “Louisville”? It’s not Lou-ee-ville. It’s not Lou-ss-ville. It’s Lou-ah-ville. ======== We went to the Creation Museum in Petersburg. There’s an outdoor, kid-sized zoo near the museum building, where […]

The Mega Cavern

Today, we visited, according to TripAdvisor.com, the #1 Louisville attraction: the Mega Cavern. It’s far more than a touring ride through a cave. (And by the way, do you know what the difference is between a cave and a cavern? A cave is nature-made; a cavern is man-made!) This is a historic limestone mine that’s […]

Louisville and The Ark Encounter

Quick! What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word, “Kentucky”? The Kentucky Derby? Kentucky Bluegrass? Kentucky Fried Chicken? “What? Why are you vacationing in Kentucky?”, I hear you thinking. There’s actually more to see here than you are imagining. We were visiting our #1 son to see how he, an […]

Sydney, part two and Finis

G’day, mates! We continued to wander the harbor environs. The Rocks Christmas Markets was a fun, seasonal, weekend-type event that had many unique items for sale. It was a series of merchandise and food booths that stretched for several blocks. This booth had giant bugs for sale. Augh! Could somebody give me a broom? The […]

Sydney, part one

The final three and a half days of our trip were spent in Sydney. There is so much to say, this post will be split into two parts. We visited the Featherdale Wildlife Park, which houses a sizable collection of Australian fauna. Imagine the sweat, rolling down the back of your neck, minutes into your […]

Dunedin

There were quite a variety of places to see in Dunedin. Here is Baldwin Street, called the world’s steepest residential street, as labeled in Guinness World Records. It’s difficult to convey in photos the street’s steep angle. Supposedly, this is steeper than Lombard St. in San Francisco. https://www.newzealand.com/us/article/steepest-street-in-the-world/ http://www.dunedin.nz.com/baldwin-street.aspx Next stop was Dunedin’s Railway Station, […]

Christchurch

In the morning, as we were making our way to the tour bus to Christchurch, this sign caught my eye. As you may recall, Christchurch was in the headlines in February 2011 for its major earthquake. Our tour guide said that the city center was closed for two years. Tourism completely stopped: there was no place […]

Napier

Our next port was the city of Napier, the “Art Deco City.” During the morning hours, the two-lane street into the city center was packed with tourist shuttles, public buses, city and commercial utility trucks. The sidewalks were dense with picture-taking tourists and a variety of hawkers representing retail shops or selling tour options. One […]

Tauranga

Tauranga was our second port of the cruise. Guarding the entrance to the harbor was this warrior statue. You know, the trouble with being a statue is that some bird-brain might take advantage of your dignified presence. Our excursion here was the five-hour “Swim with the Dolphins,” starting at the Salisbury Wharf. See something peculiar […]

Hobbiton

Hobbiton. The Shire. The village of the Hobbits. This site was at the top on my list of must-see places. The first stop, though, was at the café. Second breakfast is definitely on the menu at the Hobbiton entrance cafe, called the Shire’s Rest Cafe. I don’t recall any mention in the movies of […]

Auckland, Second Day

On our second day in Auckland, our excursion tour included a visit to Hobbiton. There is so much to say about Hobbiton that it will be covered separately in the next post. https://www.skycityauckland.co.nz/sky-tower/ Our guide said that Auckland is larger than Los Angeles in area, but that all of New Zealand is smaller than Nevada. […]

Auckland, First Day

Greetings, fellow travelers! Time once again to beckon you to join me, this time to beautiful New Zealand. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g1811027-Auckland_North_Island-Vacations.html While flying the direct 13-hour route to Auckland abroad American Airlines, we passed by Bora-Bora and Pago Pago — exotic locals that I only heard about in old Hollywood films when I was growing up. As […]