Peggy's Cove Photos

During an excursion in Nova Scotia while on my Maine/Canada cruise this past September on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas, I got to visit Peggy's Cove. It's a touristy small scenic cove with a pretty lighthouse which can be seen in the first photo. For me, the real highlight of this visit is what you can get in the combination gift shop/restaurant you see in the second photo. On the second floor of the building, you can get a free special passport stamp that shows the lighthouse and the location Peggy's Cove. In my opinion, it's a neat souvenir of the trip that reminds me of the equally cool passport stamp I got at Machu Picchu, Peru.

Town Centre at Laurel (Maryland) Photos

I decided to try out my latest newest toy, a Sony DSC-RX100M2 point and shoot camera. The main advantage of the camera is that you can carry it in your pocket. This made it great for taking these photos as I was riding around on my TMAX motorbike.

My photos show the new Town Centre at Laurel shopping place. It has different parts scattered around, some of which aren't finished or haven't been let out yet. It is a huge improvement over the demolished Laurel Mall that used to occupy the site. The 2nd photo shows the new 12 screen Regal theater. I haven't seen a movie there but, that isn't any big surprise since I'm not a big movie goer. Most of the shops seem to be occupied by restaurants with others such at Sports Authority having moved from other locations in Laurel. The centre features other stores like Harris Teeter and Burlington Coat Factory (an original occupant). It's a nice development and may help bring more people into Laurel. Happy Holidays everyone!

Portland Horse Drawn Trolley Tour

During my Maine/Canada cruise back in September, I did a horse drawn trolley tour of Portland. The tour ended being really nice. The trolley took us around the historic parts of the city where the tour guide told us about the buildings as we passed them. I think the tour was 90 minutes long. I felt it was a very good tour and would recommend it to anyone visiting Portland.

New York City Skyline and Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Photos

One of the beginning highlights of my Maine/Canada cruise on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas was the view of New York City from Port Liberty, Bayonne, New Jersey. As you see in the photo, the views were awesome!

In the 2nd photo, you can see the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge that links Staten Island with Brooklyn. At one time, this bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world till the Humber bridge in the United Kingdom surpassed it in 1981. My ship would pass under this bridge on its way out to the Atlantic Ocean.

Personal Eulogy For My Friend May Jackson

Today, I got a nasty shock. I got a call from my friend May Jackson's son-in-law Mike (last name unknown) letting me know May had passed away last night. I had no idea she was doing that badly. I learned just maybe less than a month ago that she'd been put in a nursing home because she was having such a rough time with needless worry and other things. I hoped when I got word of that she would pull out of it and, we could resume our chats as well as continuing to exchange letters. It was not to be.

I first met May when I moved into an apartment complex in San Angelo, Texas. I was a Tech Sergeant in the Air Force at the time and had just been stationed at the air base close by. I forget how we first met but, I remember her and her apartment well. May would serve cheap champagne and was a delight to be around. We had similar interests. Both of us liked culture, travel and art. I remember well the artistic rug she had hanging on one of her apartment walls. It consisted of bright solid swathes of color one after another. May asked me how much I thought it cost. I guess I didn't know art prices that well because I didn't come close to guessing the actual price. The RUG cost over $4,500 to my total shock!

Later, I got assigned to other air bases and kept in touch by phone and letter. One time while home for Christmas, I called her and reminded her that I was going to come down there and see her again (a promise I later kept). She asked me what I was doing in April. I said nothing. She told me about a special graduation trip that she, her daughter Jan and her grand-daughter Dallas (who was graduating from college - Georgetown possibly) were doing to Egypt. May particularly liked the country. I'd never visited it. She said lets meet there. Since I was stationed in Bahrain at the time, it wouldn't have been a huge hassle to fly over there. I told her I'd do my best to make it happen. I managed to get an Egyptian visa at the Egyptian embassy in Bahrain, made hotel reservations at the MENA House Oberoi Hotel (where her tour group was staying), arranged to have a driver pick me up at the airport and take me to the hotel (and later back to the airport) and in April I flew to Cairo.

I arrived first and waited for her to show up which she did I think an hour or 2 later. May some how talked the tour group leader into letting me join her tour for the next 2 days. It ended up being a lot of fun. Sadly, it was the only time we got to travel together. Because of May, I found out I liked Egypt and later, I did an Avalon Waterways tour where I saw the rest that I didn't get to do with her tour. I won't ever forget that trip with her, her daughter and grand-daughter.

I kept in touch with May and, I hoped to make it down to San Angelo again some time to see her. Sadly, it won't happen. I can't make it to her funeral with my future travel plans which are already set. Plus, I suspect it'll be a very sad family affair. I know they'll miss her dearly. May was a wonderful lady with a lot of character and a lot of spunk. May she know peace.