New Paradise Island Monastery Ruins Pictures

Here are the promised new photos I took of the French monastery ruins on Paradise Island, Bahamas. The place is really pretty. I was told it was very popular for weddings and, I can definitely understand why. The photos were taken with my Sony Cybershot RX 100 II pocket digital SLR. The camera was ideal in this case since it's so small and much easier to carry that my Canon Rebel XTi camera though I can't get as fancy with the Sony camera as I can with the Canon camera (I have a Canon.EFS 55-255mm lense which gives me great telephoto pictures).

New Atlantis Pictures

Here are some photos I took during my 2nd cruise with my totally awesome Aunt Marge and very cool Uncle Dave (Mr. Spiffy). Sadly, the two of them didn't get to see this famous and impressive resort. This was my 2nd trip there and, it ended up being a bit of a misadventure as I took a cheap ferry over to Paradise Island and found out I had no idea where I was going and, I didn't have a map. Thankfully, after taking these pictures as well as new ones of the ruined French monastery which I'll post later, I was able to find my way back to the ferry landing and eventually made it back to our ship Majesty of the Seas.

The resort is impressive and, I think they did a great job of the Atlantis theme. I believe I posted pictures previously of my first visit if you want to see pictures of the aquarium part of Atlantis. The open aquarium is supposedly the largest in the Caribbean. Also, the resort has an impressive water park though I've never seen it. Water parks aren't my thing. Lastly, the resort has the 10th most expensive hotel room in the world - the Michael Jackson suite. I don't know if it's actually named after him but, people call it that after he stayed there 13 straight nights! Michael definitely had money as the suite costs $25,000 a night!

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.

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.

Miami Hop Hop Off and City Photos

Between cruises, my travel friend Harvey and I decided to see some of Miami. One of the easiest ways to do that is do a hop on hop off tour. You get on the bus which stops at various landmarks and when one really grabs your attention, you hop off and check it out. When you're done seeing that particular place, you hop back on the bus and continue on the tour. It's a really easy way to see the city.

The company our travel agent Joel Mills recommended was Big Bus. They offer 2 different routes. One takes in Little Havana and other historic landmarks while the 2nd route does Miami Beach and South Beach. We chose do the first one.

Big Bus was convenient for us because all we had to do was walk across the bridge that connects Miami to its port, cross the street to Bayside Marketplace and walk around to the Big Bus stop. The first picture is of one of their buses. The 2nd is of some of the fine folks that work there. I don't remember their names but, I remember them being very nice. They represented their company well.

The 3rd picture of a courthouse interestingly. The 4th is of a 50's type store. The last photo is of the historic Biltmore Hotel. In its heyday, it was the place to stay when visiting Miami.

The Big Bus tour was very nice though neither Harvey or I felt like getting off the bus during the tour. We returned to Bayside Marketplace where we walked over to the Miami Hard Rock Cafe so, I could get my t-shirt. I collect them from all the Hard Rock Cafes I visit. After that, we stopped in the Starbucks where I treated Harvey to a coffee so, he wouldn't mind me getting on the Internet for a little while. I don't like coffee but, I love Starbucks's free WiFi.

Then, we hoofed it back to the Majesty of the Seas where we used our 2nd cruise SeaPasses to get on-board. The SeaPasses were delivered to our cabins the night before we pulled back into Miami. Thankfully, Royal Caribbean has those who do back-to-back cruises in-process once. So, we got to skip it on the 2nd cruise though we did have to do the emergency drill again before the ship left the pier.

The next pictures I'll post will be of the very impressive Atlantis Resort on Paradise Islands, Bahamas. Stay tuned.

Cloister Photos, Paradise Island, Bahamas

Here are 2 photos I took of The Cloisters on Paradise Island. I took 3 others but, I used those in a review that I wrote for Tripadvisor.com. As I don't want to use those again and possibly have some trouble with those folks, I'm using my remaining 2 photos.

The Cloisters were the last thing I got to see on my first excursion in Nassau. I think they're the prettiest too though the Queen's Staircase was pretty neat. The Cloisters have an interesting story. William Randolph Hearst, the great newspaper magnate, bought the ruins of a French monastery and had them shipped either to the U.S. or the Bahamas (that point wasn't clear in my researches). Apparently, no one thought to note how the various pieces went together. When they tried to put the pieces together, they realized they had a BIG problem. Hearst never put the ruins back together. Later, his heirs I believe sold them to the A&P heir (I forget his name) who was building a super posh hotel on what was then known as Pig Island (I believe that was the name then, he later petitioned the Bahamian Parliament to have the name changed to Paradise Island, a lot more appealing to people staying there you know). He bought the ruins and hired an artist who then spent 2 years trying all kinds of combinations till he finally came up with what you see today.

The ruins are stilled owned by the hotel the heir built. I forget it's name though I do remember it's part of the One and Only Chain of hotel. The hotel allows anyone to visit the ruins and, there isn't any charge. They're open 24 hours a day. They are very popular for weddings according to the guide I had. It would sense as they would be a great setting for a wedding.

After visiting these ruins, my tour group returned to the cruise ship terminal where I would take some photos of the Oasis of the Seas. Stay tuned for those photos tomorrow. Happy travels all!

Nassau, Bahamas Harbor Pictures

Time to post some more Bahamas cruises pictures for my totally awesome Aunt Marge. The first picture here is of the entrance to the harbor at Nassau, Bahamas. This is noteworthy because the Bahamian government had to widen the channel entrance to the harbor so the Oasis and its sister ships could visit Nassau without running the risk of running aground. It would've been a tight fit for the ship otherwise. Two pictures of the Oasis will appear in future posts as I was able to get up close to the ship in Nassau.

The second picture is to the left of the harbor entrance. You can see some kind of factory out that way as well as a nice beach. As I remember, there were food stands by the beach too.

The third picture is of the 4 ships that were in port the first time I made port in Nassau on Majesty of the Seas. From left to right, you have the Oasis, a Norwegian Cruise Line ship (name unremembered), a Carnival ship (name unremembered but always easy to identify due to their unique smokestack) and Majesty of the Seas.

The fourth picture is another picture of Majesty of the Seas that I didn't know I had. This shows the ship from the pier close to the building where you pass through security to enter Nassau.

Next up will be the Cloisters which you won't want to miss. They are really pretty, have an interesting story and are very popular for weddings in Nassau. Stay tuned.

Fort Fincastle and Queen's Staircase Pictures

Fort Fincastle was built in 1793 by Lord Dunmore, the governor of the Bahamas at the time. It was named Fincastle after his 2nd title Viscount Fincastle. The fort was 1 of the 3 forts that protected Nassau. The other 2 forts were Fort Charlotte and Fort Nassau which no longer exists. The fort had 2 12 pound, 2 24 pound and 2 32 pound cannons as well as 1 howitzer. Oddly, the fort is shaped like a paddle steamer. You can see what looks like the front of a ship in the 2nd picture.

The Queen's Staircase was built so soldiers could easily get to Fort Fincastle. According to my guide, it took slaves 16 years to hack out of stone the steps that led to the fort. Later, as far as I know, they beautified the staircase and, there is now a pretty waterfall as seen in the 4th picture as well as plants along the staircase. The guide for the tour I did was kind enough to give those who wanted to see the staircase the option of walking down it and joining the tour bus at the base of the staircase. My travel friend Harvey and I took him up on the offer and enjoyed checking it out barring the hustler who tried to get a tip off us for some information on the staircase we didn't ask for.

St. David's Lighthouse

The first sight I got to see on my tour of St. George's, Bermuda back in May was St. David's Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built between 1876 and 1879. It stands 55 feet tall and is made of Bermuda limestone. The lighthouse's beacon can be seen for 20 nautical miles. It's still in use today and serves as an important nautical beacon in Bermuda. (Source: plaque on the lighthouse) You can go inside the lighthouse and climb up to the top where the beacon is. I think there was something like 55 steps. It was also a bit narrow as I remember. At the top, there are some nice views of the area.

Scooters in Bermuda

During my 3rd excursion in Bermuda, the tour stopped in Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda. I walked around a little and noticed this huge collection of scooters parked in a parking lot for them by the harbor. Scooters make sense in Bermuda. The maximum allowed speed in Bermuda is 30 miles per hour (so I was told) which is within the range of a 49cc scooter. Gas is expensive in Bermuda and, scooters get great gas mileage. My first motorbike was a Yamaha Vino Classic i.e. scooter and, it got at least 82 miles to the gallon. Also, scooters are very affordable compared to a car. I paid top dollar for mine and, it came to around $3,000. I know you can get one for a lot less than that though I don't have any idea what they cost in Bermuda. Still, they have to be cheaper than a car. Also, you can carry a fair amount of stuff on a scooter. The storage compartment underneath my Vino Classic could hold a bag and a half of groceries and, you could install an additional storage compartment behind the seat. The only downside I can see to a scooter is you are exposed to the elements however, I think the sun shines a lot in Bermuda so, this wouldn't be a problem. I was tempted to rent one however, that was pricey. I heard prices of between $55 and $80 an hour plus, you had to fill up the tank when you were done. Still, I think it would be fun to ride one in Bermuda. It would be a great way to see the island. I wanted to show off my TMAX there so bad but, my TMAX wouldn't be allowed in Bermuda because the engine is too big. I heard there was a law limiting the size of the engines there to 150cc though the police have a waiver and have motorcycles that have 700cc engines. One of the tour guides there told me scooter accidents are a problem in Bermuda as apparently riders go too fast for the conditions and, car drivers don't pay enough attention for scooters. I suspect the 2nd reason is a problem here in the United States too.

If you make it to Bermuda, you might want to consider seeing Bermuda by scooter. I think it would be a fun way to see the island. Happy riding all!

Old City of Dubrovnik

One of the highlights of my 1st cruise last month with Royal Caribbean on Splendour of the Seas was visiting the old city of Dubrovnik. The old city still has its fortified walls, towers, narrow walkways and charm. It was awesome to get to walk around it and learn about it from my Croatian guide. At one time, the capital of the city-state of Ragusa, it was a trading power that rivaled Venice. Unbeknownst to the powers in the area i.e. Spain, Croatia (for a time) and the Ottoman Empire at that time, the Dubrovniks bought each power off and made fortunes trading with each of the powers. It remains 1 of the top tourist attractions in Croatia and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This is a picture of Stradun Street which is the main and widest street in Old Dubrovnik. All the buildings in the old city are built of stone presumably to help protect against fires.

Here is the clock tower in the old city. I thought it was pretty neat looking.

My 2011 Visit to Vancover, Canada

I made it to Vancouver, Canada. It was a long day getting here. I managed to get just 4 hours sleep after driving back from Michigan. The Big Blue Van airport shuttle folks picked me up at 3:15 in the morning and got me to Reagan National Airport in good time. From there, I had a nearly 3 hour flight to Houston, a 1 hour layover and a 5 hour flight to Vancouver. My travel agent arranged for a driver to pick me up at the airport and, he was waiting once I finished customs and immigration. The drive into Vancouver was just 30 minutes.

The Listel Hotel has lived up to its reputation for being artsy. It is filled with art. The hotel staff are nice and helpful. The location ISN'T the best if you're going to do a cruise out of Vancouver. My friend Harvey and I walked to to the cruise ship terminal and, we realized real quick we weren't going to do that lugging our suitcases. The taxi fare supposedly won't be more than $15 Canadian. We'll find out for sure when we take the taxi this morning.

The Vancouver cruise ship terminal is impressive. It can reportedly handle 4 cruise ships at 1 time. I think the most I've seen here was 3. I spoke with a person named Brett who told Harvey and I what we had to do upon arrival at the terminal. I'll post that procedure after I've gone through it myself so other travellers will know what to do and what to expect.

Yesterday, I used the Big Bus Hop On Hop Off service to sightsee Vancouver. It worked out well. I rode the bus through its entire route so I could hear all the narrative then, I decided what particular sights I wanted to see. I decided on Stanley Park and the Sun Yat Sen Chinese gardens. Stanley Park was really neat. It has a collection of 7 totem poles representing the various Indian nations. It also has dense forest and stunning trees. Lastly, it gives some great views of the Vancouver skyline at certain points. I was really glad I checked out this park. The Chinese garden was a nice quiet oasis in the city. There are 2 Chinese gardens you can visit. The larger classical garden has an admission charge but includes a guided tour of the garden while the smaller garden is free.

During my stay in Vancouver, I've eaten at 3 places - The Irish Heather, The Top of Vancouver and O'Doul's. The Irish Heather is a fantastic Irish pub with an astounding choice of single malt whiskies (over 100 I believe). I particularly enjoyed the steak and Guinness pot pie I had there. The Top of Vancouver restaurant is located at the top of a tower that rotates and looks over Vancouver. It offers great views of the city. The restaurant rotates completely around once every 60 minutes. Service was outstanding at this restaurant. The restaurant isn't cheap but, the food is very good. I had some excellent calimari and escargot for starters. My seafood melody main entree was very good. I was very pleased to dine at this restaurant as it made a nice finish to my day of sightseeing in Vancouver. O'Doul's is the restaurant attached to the Listel Hotel. This makes it very easy to get to for those staying there. I had breakfast at this restaurant as well as a couple nightcaps. The breakfast was very good though pricey. Service was excellent. The bartender at the bar where I had my nightcaps was really nice. They do have some affordable brews. Surprisingly, they don't offer Molson Canadian lager on draft there. Molson has a large brewery in the city which I passed by during my tour of the city.

Overall, I've enjoyed my stay at Vancouver though it isn't a place I would've visited for just itself. It isn't that interesting to me. If you are going to do an Alaskan cruise out of here, it is worth spending an extra day checking the place out. The city has a number of the big cruise lines stop here including Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Princess Lines and Silversea (I saw their Silver Shadow ship at the cruise ship terminal yesterday). A tour guide on the hop on hop off bus I rode told me the city receives over 1 million visitors a year during the cruise season. I can understand why. The cruise ship terminal itself is located in the center of the city making it an ideal base to see the city from and, it looks like it's easy to board the ships there (I'll know for certain on that later today).

That's all for this installment. Stay tuned for blogs on the renovated Radiance of the Seas and how my Alaska cruise goes. Happy travels all.

Change of Plans

My travel plans have changed for 2009. Previously, I said I was going to do a cruise June of 2009. I decided to nix the cruise. It was just too expensive. Because of the gap I have to do between major trips, I had to do the cruise in June. June is the beginning of high season cruise wise. High season is the most expensive time to go cruising. While I would like to do another cruise, I don't HAVE to do one then. So, I decided to do something else. On my wish list travel wise was seeing Yorktown, Jamestown and Gettysburg. Globus has a tour that hits those historic places. Funnily enough, it starts in Washington D.C. The tour will visit some places I've already been to such as Colonial Williamsburg, Monticello and Philadelphia. But, I won't mind seeing those places again. I really enjoyed visiting Colonial Williamsburg. I'm curious what kind of group we'll get for the tour. The tour lasts just 8 days total. I've never done such a short one before. Also, this will be my first Globus tour in the U.S. It'll be interesting to see what it's like. Stay tuned.

Richmond - Part II

I slept well at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The bed was very comfortable and they have a CD that helps you get a good night sleep. The last time I stayed at the hotel, I asked them if I could have a copy. They said sure and I've used it number of times since. The CD is made by some sleep specialists who help you relax so you can conk out quickly. I've found it really works and would highly recommend it.

Harvey and I had breakfast at the hotel. To my surprise, they gave me coupons for two free breakfasts. I found the breakfast buffet good. You'll be able to fill yourself up and may be able to even skip lunch.

After breakfast, we drove out to see Harvey's travel agent. His name was Joel and he works at the Richmond Carlson Wagonlit (Update 12/31/12: Joel no longer works for the Richmond Carlson Wagonlit as this company no longer exists in Richmond. He is a freelance travel agent now that works through 2 different travel companies - 1 in Richmond and 1 in Fredricksburg I think). The reason I was meeting him was he had gotten price information for us on a trip to New York City (NYC) to see the Rockettes. The last time we went to NYC, we discovered the Rockettes have certain seasons they perform. Late July wasn't one of them. We also discovered last year that you want to go to NYC during the prime season, you'd better book early. So, Joel was helping us put together a travel package for early December so we could see the Rockettes and another show on Broadway. Joel did a great job and found us a reasonable hotel though the price still made me gasp. It's going to cost over $300! a night at this hotel and that is one of the cheaper ones. The five-star hotels would go over $600 a night! I've never paid so much for a hotel. When they say NYC is expensive, they're not joking.

Another thing I checked into with Joel was doing a Scandanavia tour with Globus. I was really bummed when I had to cancel the planned tour this year. I found out Joel will be able to tell me if the tour has enough bookings to where it will go. He would also be able to help me if I had to cancel. I booked with another agency and found out I didn't know what credit card I used to charge me booking on so I couldn't get my money back when I cancelled since I couldn't prove I'd paid for the booking. It cost me over $200. Serious ouch! Hopefully, Harvey and I will be able to do the tour late-August of 2007. It would be a lot of fun to do another tour with Globus. We'll see if it happens.

After meeting with Joel, we travelled to the Virginia Museum of Art (VMA). It's a good art museum with an interesting exhibit on the famed Russian jeweler Faberge. Faberge didn't create the pieces he was renowned for but he did come up with the ideas for the renowned eggs. The famous Easter eggs were very beautiful. They also gave a poignant picture of the doomed Russian royal family. I found it really interesting viewing the various pieces of the collection. One painting the museum that I disliked greatly was a piece of modern art done I believe by a Dutch artist. It was a painting of a modern Black man dressed in modern clothes holding a sword. To me, it looked incredibly STUPID. I never would've wasted money on such a pathetic painting. I hope the museum got the painting cheap because in my opinion, it isn't worth much if anything. The museum also had the Mellon collection. The collection was donated by George Mellon and was nice. Mellon must've been into fox hunting as he had a lot of paintings on that. He also had three Renoirs, a Monet, and a bust of the apostle John by Rodin. I particularly enjoyed those. The Rodin piece was very impressive. I think Rodin was a great student of Michelangelo in that both emphasized the strength and majesty of the human body. Lastly, we saw an exhibit on Tiffany glass which was nice. The workmanship clearly shined through. The pieces were very beautiful.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend that if you like art and you're in Richmond, you check out the museum. We spent an easy four hours there.

After that, it was time to find a place to eat. Harvey remembered a place where he'd go for some noteworthy sausage sandwiches. I said lets go. We drove out to this mall only to find out the place had closed. Harvey then remembered a bar-b-que restaurant which was open. The bar-b-que however wasn't terribly impressive and it wasn't air conditioned. I would've rated it so-so.

I had a fun day and was pleased that we were able to make arrangements for future travels. The NYC trip should be a lot of fun. Sadly, I'd be returning home the next day. I was worried about Amtrak's timeliness as I was scheduled to work at Medieval Times from 3 to 11 p.m. Stay tune for the final installment of my Richmond trip and find out if Ditto makes it back in time or not.

Richmond Trip - Part I

As I mentioned in previous posts, I planned to take a train trip to Richmond, Virginia to see my friend Harvey who lives there. Last Wednesday, I finally made the trip. The following Richmond trip blog entries will concern the trip.

I woke up two hours earlier than planned. This was usual for me when I was going to be leaving on a trip. I was nervous about getting my bag packed, arriving at the train station in time, and being there when the train pulled in. I tried going back to sleep but it didn't work so I got up, got dressed, scrounged up some ready to eat food (I don't like to cook) for breakfast, and then packed my bag. The trip was only going to last a little over 2 days so it was easy to pack for. In no time, I was packed and ready. After wasting some time fiddling with some playing cards, I picked up my bags, stuck them in the car, and drove to the train station parking lot. The parking lot at the BWI Amtrak station is a large multi-level two garage lot. I suspect the vast majority of their customers are commuters who take the train into either Baltimore or Washington D.C. I know when I reached platform 3 that it was packed with people with no luggage who boarded the MARC (Maryland Railroad Corporation) train. There were only three of us left for the Amtrak train to D.C. and one of those worked for Amtrak. The train arrived about 10 minutes late which isn't any big deal. I found my seat in Business Class and settled down for the ride. I napped a little as I was a little tired. I didn't sleep great and as I mentioned, I woke up early. I also listened to some bible doctrine tapes to pass the time. The trip seem to go quickly and I arrived in Richmond at approximately 10 till 10 in the morning.

Harvey was waiting for me at the station. It was nice to see him again. He's a really nice person and a great person to chat with. We walked out to his car and started to catch up on the news. For some reason, it seems that though we've talked a number of times on the phone, there was always more to catch on (things we forget to mention on the phone perhaps?). We drove to the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Broad Street. I'd stayed at this hotel before and felt it was reasonably priced. It was also well placed in relation to the train station. Lastly, I was pleased with its service. The people there were always friendly and helpful. Check-in was easy and it was time to figure out what we wanted to do. There wasn't any set itinerary so the two of us hashed out ideas before finally coming up with a plan. We decided to see the Confederate White House, Museum of the Confederacy, and then go some place for dinner.

The Confederate White House is where Jefferson Davis and his family lived in Richmond during the time he was President of the Confederacy. It is a really nice house and the organization that runs the tours of the house has done a really nice job of restoring the house to the that time. Our guide showed us the rooms the rooms the Davis family lived in and told us stories about the family. During the time the family lived in the house, Davis had two children bringing the total to four. Davis believed children should be able to do whatever they want, not be disciplined, and should be listened to by adults. Not surprisingly, his children were unholy terrors and went through a number of nannies. The situation grew so grave that Mrs. Davis would post help wanted signs without her name so prospective employees wouldn't know what they were getting into. The house also had the rooms where Davis met with his generals including the legendary Robert E. Lee. It was something to stand in the same room where he, General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and others met. Our tour guide was excellent and really helped make the house more alive to our group. After the house tour, it was time to see the museum.

The museum has three levels. One covers the history of the confederacy in general and the war. One covers the confederate navy which receives very little notice in most history books. And one covered the life of the conferate soldier. The confederacy in general floor helped explain the political maneuvering that took place and some of the painful choices those in the military had to make. One interesting thing that surprised me was how much the confederacy sought to draw upon from the U.S.'s founding fathers. They argued that the founding fathers approved of slavery and that made it right. In fact, a number of founding fathers disapproved of it but the issue was so contentious that for the sake of helping found the new nation they dropped the issue. Later, during the 1789 (I hope I have the year right) constitutional convention, the issue had to be dropped again as it again threatened to destroy the nation. The floor also had a number of interesting items including Brigadier George Armistead's sword that he used at Gettysburg. For those of you who don't know, it was Armistead who lead Pickett's famous charge. Armistead took off his hat, put it on the top of his sword, and then advanced toward the Union lines. Sadly, just as Armistead was reaching the Union lines, he was cut down by Union fire. The floor also showed how General Lee lived on campaign. Lee lived in the same conditions his soldiers lived. He believed it wrong for him to live better and it would bother him greatly if he did. He slept on a portable cot, used a simple mess kit, and slept inside a standard tent. The floor did a great job of covering the various issues and events. Harvey and I had no problem spending an hour and half there.

The floor covering the Confederate Navy was also interesting. It was the confederates who built the first iron-clad ship, the precursor to the modern navies of today. The ironclad C.S.S. Virginia could've helped break the Union blockade but the Union came up with its own ironclad the U.S.S. Monitor. The result was an epic battle. While the battle ended in a draw (neither side could penetrate the others iron armor), it marked the unquestioned end of the age of sail. Another interesting topic the exhibits help show is how critical the Confederate Navy was in keeping the Confederacy in the war. The South had precious little industry and had to import a large number of goods. Thanks to the Confederate Navy, they were able to get a number of the supplies they needed. Ultimately, the Union blockade slowly strangled the South but for a number of years, the Confederate Navy did its part in keeping the Confederacy in the war. The last thing of note that many people may not be aware of was that the confederacy helped further the development of the submarine. The Hunley was capable of diving and like modern submarines took in water to help it submerge. It used a harpoon connected to a barrel that contained as much as 135 pounds of gunpowder. The submarine would charge a ship, ramming the harpoon into the ship, set off the barrel containing the gunpowder which would either cripple or sink the ship. The idea actually worked and the Hunley became (as far as I know) the first submarine to sink an enemy ship when one sank the U.S.S. Housatonic outside Charleston, South Carolina. Sadly, the ship and crew that sank the ship were lost for unknown reasons. Later, the missing submarine was found just outside the Charleston harbor. It remains unknown what caused the submarine to sink. One last interesting note on the Hunley. The Hunley was human powered. It used eight men sitting cramped on a bench pushing and pulling a crank that powered the propeller which in turn powered the ship. The conditions the ship's crew lived in were appalling and speaks of the bravery and sacrifice the fighting men of the confederacy made for their cause.

The third floor on the life of a confederate soldier was interesting as it showed letters from the soldiers and told of the hardships they went through. It also showed art that done during the period. The quality of the art varied. Some of the paintings and drawings were well done while others weren't. The floor also has a painting of the last meeting between Lee and Jackson. It's a nice painting and has an interesting story behind it. The artist E.D.B. Julio planned to become the artist of the Confederacy but his grand plans went no where. His painting remained unsold for a number of years and he ended up going bankrupt. The painting was bought in the auction of his property and eventually donated to the museum. It was the only painting the artist did of the confederacy.

After seeing the Confederate White House and the Museum of the Confederacy, it was time to get something to eat. Harvey had heard of dining event that was being held at the Richmond NASCAR racetrack. Supposedly for $25, you could have all you could eat of crabs, corn on the cob, pie, and other various foods. It sounded really great. It was to be the beginning of our misadventures when it came to dining. We drove out to the racetrack only to find out that you had to buy tickets in advance. You couldn't buy them at the event. I still had a hunkering for crabs and Harvey thought he knew of a restaurant that would have them. After getting the address at his apartment, we drove out to Crabshack Louie's. Crabshack Louie's it turned out didn't have any steamed crabs though they did have soft-shelled crabs (which I tried). I was also frustrated when I tried to order something to drink. They didn't have lemonade or root beer and I ended settling for a ginger ale. I decided to try their calamari as a I really like the stuff. The waitress assured us it was enough for two. It wasn't. The only good thing I can say about their calamari was there weren't any big chunky pieces. Price wise, I thought it was a bit of rip-off. Overall, I thought the place was very pricey and I wouldn't recommend it.

After dinner, Harvey dropped me off at my hotel. The day had been a fun day and I looked forward to the next. The next day I would get to meet Harvey's travel agent, see the Virginia Museum of Art, and have another dining miss adventure. Stay tuned for Richmond Trip - Part II.

Cairns - Part III

Time to finish my tale of my adventures in Cairns, Australia. Since my last post, I managed to find the trip itinerary that Jann (our guide) gave the group so my narrative should be more accurate. The picture to the left is a picture of the train we took from Cairns to Kuranda. The cars were old fashioned cars with benches in them for seats. In the following pictures, you'll get to see some of the beautiful scenery the group got to see on the trip to Kuranda. Kuranda for your information was the main town that raw materials were taken to from further inland. The materials such as gold, lumber, hides, etc. was then put on the train to Cairns where it might be shipped out to other places in Australia and abroad. Kuranda is now something of a tourist town. They have a butterfly farm where you can see a number of beautiful butterflies. They also have a number of craft and souvenir shops. The other thing I remember of note was a very pretty Aussie girl who was selling sausages here. I bought one (it was all right) but the main thing I enjoyed was the sight of her. I didn't try to chat her up because I didn't see any point in it. I was only going to be in Kuranda 90 minutes or so and never expected to return. 90 minutes is not enough time to properly get to know someone so I let it go but, I do remember the girl from Kuranda.

Above are pictures of two waterfalls. The one on the left is a small one the train passed by. The one on the right is a massive waterfall that sadly has hardly any water going over it. Where did the water go? It was diverted and sent underground to power a turbine to generate electricity. Further down the river, the water is sent back into the river and continues along it's way. Supposedly when it rains really heavily, you can see the large waterfall in all its glory. It's said to be very impressive.













The picture on the left is me with my Aussie hat on and Harvey. The picture on the right is our absolutely fantastic tour guide Jann Elphinstone. The picture doesn't do this wonderful lady justice. She was an absolute marvel. She managed repeatedly to get 19 people and herself through a number of airports without losing their luggage or them. She managed to see off every member of the group on whatever optional tours they signed up, even at the most ungodly of hours. And lastly, to the envy of any woman, she managed to look fashionable no matter what time of day or night it was and on very little sleep at times. There is no question that this wonderful woman made my tour of Australia an absolute delight. Later, when I got to visit Auckland, I and others who went on the Auckland add-on tour missed her greatly. We didn't know it but, we had been spoiled rotten by her and had a rough time coming back to earth afterwards. This July, when me and Harvey went to New York City, we missed her again. We had to find our own transportation to the hotel, had to find where to board the Grayline bus tour of NYC, and had to find the theater where we saw "The Producers." If she had been there, all those things would've been taken care of. If you can take a tour with this wonderful woman, by all means do so. You won't regret it.

After getting up to Kuranda, we had to get back down. There were three ways you could do that. You could either a bus or the train back or you could take the Skyrail. What the Skyrail is are cars that ride along cables that hang from very high towers above the rainforest. At times, you are 130 feet above the ground. It's an awesome way to see the rainforest outside Cairns. At the end of the ride, whether you want it or not, you get your picture taken. They later offer that picture for sale. By this time, I was getting totally tired of having every dang restaurant and boat we rode on take my picture and then try to sell it to me for a hefty mark-up. I would've normally passed on this one except that Harvey must have gotten caught by surprise by the camera because he looks like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. I think he looks hilarious and I subsequently bought the picture. I don't have it posted because Harvey hasn't given permission to post it and I won't do so out of consideration for his feelings.

After we finished the ride on the Skyrail, we returned to the hotel. You had the choice of doing what you wanted or going on an optional ($29 Australian) tour to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Center. Jann recommended the center and I decided to go. The center is very nice and you get to see aborigines play the didgeridoo (a very long wooden tube like instrument) which is native to Australia. The didgeridoo player was very good and could do some really impressive stuff with the instrument. You also got to see some aborigine food, learn how it was prepared, learn how they made fire, learned about their religion, and saw some of their dancing. Afterwards, you could visit their giftshop where you could by some Aborigine souvenirs. I think thats where I bought a Aborigine handkerchief that I plan to put in my family's Christmas grab bag this year.

After that, it was back to the hotel again. I went off by myself into Cairns to rustle up some dinner. To my delight, I found a shop that sold Donner kebabs just like in England. Donner kebabs are kebabs made of a hamburger like meat that is slowly cooked sideways on a spit. They then shave the meat off, and stick it in a pita with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and hot sauce. It is very cheap though greasy eats. I was in greasy bliss. I also tried a Bundaberg rum and Coke and found it very smooth. I wasn't impressed with rum though I think it is better than cognac. Cognac to me tastes like really bad tasting cough syrup. I can't understand why people would drink barring trying to look all sophisticated.

The next morning, those in the group that "really" wanted to do an optional hot air balloon flight got to get up at 4:15 in the morning and returned at 9:00 a.m. I passed and enjoyed the pleasure of sleeping in. Around 7:30 or so, I strolled down to breakfast. After that, I went back to my room, got my bags, hauled them down to where the bus driver could pick them up, settled my bill with hotel, and finally boarded the bus. The bus subsequently drove us back to Cairns International Airport where we left for Alice Springs for the next part of our Australian adventure.

Stay tuned for Alice Springs where you'll get to learn about witchety grubs (I actually ate some cooked bits, first time in my life I've eaten a real BUG), what an Australian bar-b-que is like (damn good eats mate!), and learn out about the Royal Flying Doctor Corps. Cheers! :-)

Cairns - Part I

The minute we arrived in Cairns we could feel the difference between it and Sydney. It was warmer and the humidity was greater. It definitely felt tropical and it was. It was the first time I'd gotten to see land in a tropical environment. I was finally able to imagine what Hawaii looked like barring the muddy beaches in Cairns. We didn't go directly to our hotel the Tradewinds Esplanade. Instead, we went to a wildlife park where we were introduced to some of Australia's nasty and cute critters. The picture you see here is of an estuarine or salt water crocodile. These creatures are vicious and BIG. As I remember, the one in the picture you're looking was 8 feet long and they get bigger then that. It is these crocodiles that have killed people up in Australia's Northwest Territory. The territory where real Crocodile Dundee's would've lived.


One of the cute creatures we got to meet was a koala. For a fee, you could do as this member of our group is doing. You got to hold a koala and get your picture with him or her. I don't remember if they told what its sex was. After watching others in our groups get their picture taken, I had to give in and do it myself. It was kinda neat. The koala is very cute and it was nice experience barring the stain I got on my shirt from holding him/her.

We also got to meet some kangaroos. They were pretty laid back as you can see. We could buy food to feed them with if we wished. They were so use to humans that we could walk right up to them and pet them.





Another group of creatures we got to see through glass tanks were 10 of the most venomous snakes in the world. Interestingly, I believe Australia has 6 of them. Those were creatures I was glad I didn't get to meet any closer.

After the wildlife park, we drove to the hotel and checked in. I tried out the pool and have a nice swim. After that, I got changed and explored Cairns. It was a nice city and more quiet then Sydney. It was also a lot smaller. It had a lot of touristy shops which reminded me of Destin, Florida which is a big tourist town in Nortwest Florida. When I was stationed in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, I did a lot of scuba diving out of Destin. My scuba diving would come in handy later at Port Douglas (earlier I reported this as Port Arthur, I got the name wrong).

As I walked along the esplanade next to the beach, I took this picture. As you can see the beaches aren't very pretty and it is a tropical region i.e. the palm trees.





In the evening, the group had dinner at the hotel. The dinner was noteworthy because we got to try barramundi (an Australian fish), crocodile, and kangaroo. As I remember, crocodile actually tasted like chicken and kangaroo was a bit dry. Supposedly, it didn't have a lot of fat in it. The dinner ended up being very enjoyable.

The next day, we'd go to Port Douglas where we'd take a catamaran out to the Great Barrier Reef. I'll tell about that in Cairns - Part II.

Visit to Sydney, Australia

I don't know about other folks but I know I would get tired of seeing just text so on this post I'm including a couple pictures I took while in Sydney. In one of the pictures, you can see people climbing the bridge. The other is of the very famous Opera House. We actually took a tour of the Opera House and it is an awesome building. The different shell like roofs are supposed to represent sails. The building is unique and has become a recognized symbol of Sydney. For your information, opera is not the only kind of show you can catch here. It is a place of concerts, other theatrical productions, and is also used for conferences and wedding receptions.


Now, when did I do what. Sunday, we saw the aquarium, did the city tour, I believe we also did the Opera House tour, and then had a our welcoming dinner. Quite a long to do for a bunch of people that had just crossed the Pacific but that is how they scheduled it. (At the end of the tour you get to fill out a feedback sheet where you can praise the people who did a great job and slam those who didn't. One point I made was the lack of time to adjust. From the time we arrived, we were on the go.)

The welcoming dinner was at a restaurant (whose name I don't remember) by the Rocks which was a very notorious place in Sydney. It was originally the place where the first settlement was built in Sydney. Later, it became the haunt of prostitutes and thieves. Now, it is very cleaned up and is a very popular tourist destination.

It turned out there were 19 of us in the tour. For the most part, everyone was married. The only exceptions were three Puerto Rican girls who all knew each other and two bachelors (me and Harvey). We had a nice welcome dinner and began to get to know one another. We came from all over the country and had a couple wonderful Canadians from Toronto named Fraser and Denise. Fraser was a retired labor arbitrator and Denise was still doing it. They called themselves the token Canadians but they were anything but token people. They really added to the pleasure of the tour.

The next day was a free day and that was when I did the bridge climb. Later, I explored around the harbor. I checked out a couple malls, ate a forgettable lunch at McDonalds, took the harbor water taxi back to the wharf where the aquarium is, and watched the Australian Independence Day fireworks at night. I didn't stay up too late because I think the time change was finally catching up with me.

The next day, everyone packed their bags, had breakfast, checked out of the hotel (the Darling Harbor Four Points Sheraton, very nice hotel), and boarded the bus for the airport. Our next stop would be Cairns.

Australia Adventure Begins

Living in the down under, where women throw and men chunder (or something like that). That song remains one of my favorite songs. I remember actually seeing Men at Work perform in an absolute fantastic concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Ah, my young and stupid years. Now I'm older and probably still not much smarter. Oh well.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I discovered that I wanted to get to share some of the things I got to see on my travels. Unfortunately, I didn't have a girlfriend I could take along and my sister Ellie was busy with school (don't forget kid, we still gotta do a trip to Egypt some time). I don't know where I heard of Globus but, they sounded like a good company. I decided to see what tours they had available. It turned out they have a very nice tour called G'day Australia. It gives you 12 days in Australia. You get to see Sydney, Cairns (including the Great Barrier Reef), Alice Springs, Ayers Rock and the Olgas, and Melbourne. Not bad for 12 days plus 2 days travelling. I thought it was just what I wanted so I did some more searching on the internet and found Affordable Tours. They offer a 10% discount on the ground only portion of the tour and 13% on ground and airfare. It's not a bad deal though there is one catch. You never deal with a real face. You deal with these folks entirely over the phone and via email. If you have a problem with this, don't use them. As it was, I didn't have a problem with that and ended up being very pleased with them.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I booked my tour with them, got up to the six week mark, and Globus cancelled it because of a lack of people signing up. I was stunned. I was still determined to go to Australia though so I waited for Globus to release their 2004 tour dates and then booked the tour again. This time, I got lucky. The tour went.

I was big time nervous about the trip. This tour ended costing me over $5,800! That was before souvenirs, additional tours, optional meals, and what have you. I wasn't going to take any chances on things getting messed up on this trip. (I will have to tell you about my misadventures to Iceland some time.) I arrived at BWI airport 2 and a half hours before my flight. I didn't want to take any chances on the airport shuttle failing to show and causing me to miss my flight. (this has happened) I was glad to be at the airport because things were pretty much now out of my control. I did have to change planes in Dallas and L.A. and so had to find those gates but otherwise it was in the hands of the airlines. Scary thought I suppose. I remember arriving in L.A., finding the gate, and then looking around to see if there was anyone else with a Globus bag or name tag on. That was when I first met Harvey. Harvey is in his early 70's I think and was sitting by himself. I saw the Globus bag and decided to get up my courage and say hi. He said hi back and I asked if he was going on the G'day Australia tour. He said he was and I said I was too and it was nice to meet you. I forget if we chatted much more. I know they finally started boarding the plane and I told him I'd see him in Sydney.

The flight ended up being pretty nice. I had an aisle seat which helps with my long legs. To my annoyance, it was in economy which I hate. Worse still, the flight was over 11 hours. That was a LONG time to be stuck in economy. Fortunately, Qantas stocked a good supply of Victoria Bitter. I'm not a big drinker of alcohol but as long as I don't have to drive, I'll drink a beer or a glass of wine on occasion. I'm also very partial to champagne. I have been ever since I was introduced to sunrisers on my first flight from London to Detroit on Pan Am (when they were still flying internationally). Sunrisers rock, though truthfully, any good champagne rocks.

I didn't feel like champagne and I'd heard that Australia had some good beers. There were only two I was familiar with: Foster's and Broken Hill Lager. For some reason, I decided to try Victoria Bitter. Good choice my son. Three of those and the flight was a whole lot nicer.

We arrived in Sydney at 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday. Customs and immigration went smoothly and our guide Jan Elphinstone (may she be forever blessed, she is a wonderful person) had a sign and corraled all of us together. Once everyone was accounted for, she told us when we would meet for breakfast (6:30 a.m., you've got to be kidding!), herded us out to the bus, assigned us our hotel rooms when we arrived at the hotel, and wished us all a good night's sleep. Yah, right!

Amazingly, I think everyone showed up for breakfast slowly but surely. After that, I think we got together and that was when Jan showed us the list of optional tours. There were some seriously cool things on the list. You could go camel riding, hot air ballooning, scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, do a dinner tour of Melbourne on a moving trolley, visit some wineries, visit an old Australian gold mining town where you could pan for gold, and other assorted things. There were other events Jan could arrange for you too as I found out (don't worry, it isn't dirty, I'm not that kind of person, if you're disappointed, too bad).

After that, we walked across the street to the Sydney Aquarium. It ended up being a nice place where you got to see various fishes and some pretty cool dolphins. We then boarded the bus and started our tour of Sydney. One thing of note was our visit to Mrs. Macquarie's chair. Mrs. Macquaries chair is where Mrs. Macquarie, wife of the Governor of Australia back in 1815 or so, would go to see if there were any sign of arriving ships. It has a very nice view of the harbor and it was there that we had our group picture taken like so many other groups did. It was also where I found out about a particularly interesting thing you can do in Sydney. You can climb the Sydney harbor bridge!

I was taking pictures of the Sydney skyline and I noticed what looked like ants on the Sydney Harbor bridge. I asked Jan about them and she told me they were people. I asked what they heck were they doing on the bridge! (they up on the very top of it mind you) She said they were climbing it. I was thoroughly certain the Aussies were crazy. It turned out that some one got the idea that people might like to climb the Sydney Harbor bridge and so sought permission to do so. Incredibly enough, the eventually got it and it is a major tourist attraction.

Now let me tell you something about myself. I don't like bridges. I look down from them and I see that usually it is a LONG way down and, I don't like the thought if what would happen if I fell all that way DOWN. So I tend to leave bridges alone. Consequently, I have no idea what inspired me to sign up for the Harbor Bridge climb. I know only one thing for certain. I wasn't drunk, I wasn't even slightly inebriated, I had all my wits about me. Right!!!!!

Jan took me to the welcome center where you pay your $110 Australian, sign a form saying the people running the climb aren't responsible if something happens to you (smart move on their part), get a briefing on what is going to happen during the climb, line up for equipment issue, take off your own clothes, put on the climbing clothes and gear, and then line up to begin the climb. Your guide checks to make sure everyone can hear them on their headphone set. You are then guided to where you insert your locking mechanism (which is attached to a line which is attached to you) on to a metal cord that lines the entire route and from which you won't be disconnected until you step off the bridge. You then begin your climb. While you're climbing, the guide tells you some interesting things about the bridge. You find out how many rivets it took (I don't remember how many she said), how long it took to build it, how much steel it took etcetera. The truly scary part comes when you get up on the arches and climb to the top. If you are afraid of heights, don't even think about looking down because it is a LONG way down! You look out and you realize you are above the top of the Sydney Opera House. Oh crap! You actually go all the way to the top. 420 feet up! That is where you get the free group picture that is included in the price of the climb. It is also proof that you are totally insane. I have no idea if that picture can be used in a court of law against you when they question your sanity. But, it is a cool picture. They also take your picture at other points along the climb. You can buy copies of those pictures at the souvenir shop later. All totalled, I think the climb took something like an hour and a half or so. I NEVER imagined I would do something like that but, I was glad I did. It was a blast and I started my Australian adventure off in a very exciting way.