Saturday, September 9, 2023 Today is the day we finally depart for South Africa after months of planning and preparations including updating Jane’s passport, vaccinations, obtaining anti-malaria prescriptions, making arrangements with our intrepid cat- and house-sitter (Will), installing eSIM cards in our phones, etc. This adventure promises to be a […]
Thursday, June 29, 2023 We didn’t need to ramble far for this unique adventure. Mid-morning we headed to Pleasant Valley Promenade in North Raleigh to take in Nathan Sawaya’s LEGO®, art exhibition, ART OF THE BRICK. For the next two hours, we were mesmerized as we walked through rooms full
The Frampton Family in Bygone Days (John is door boy) The purpose of the trip was to attend a reunion on my mother’s side of the family (Donnelly). Friday, June 9, 2023 This morning we (including Zorro) drove the RV while towing the car to Paris Mountain State Park in
Sunday-Tuesday, May 14-16, 2023 Kane Little sister, Lisa, came to celebrate my birthday before we embarked on this trip. We enjoyed a celebratory dinner at a nice restaurant and caught up on news Friday evening and Saturday before departing Sunday morning for this excursion. Late Saturday afternoon we took Zorro
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 Well, Jane got another itching to go RVing, and so made a reservation for two nights at Medoc Mountain State Park. This park became the 22nd North Carolina State Park (of 41 total) that I have visited. We shoved off around 3 pm with Zorro on
Thursday, April 20, 2023 As spring has been unfolding around us, Jane has been wistfully eyeing our RV which has been hibernating alongside our driveway since late October. She finally could no longer resist the urge to camp, and so, made a two-night reservation for us at nearby Raven Rock
Sunday, April 2 I arose early this morning, showered, and headed to Horizons for coffee and one final viewing. Shortly, Jane joined me and we had breakfast together in Terrace Cafe, returned to our room to gather our carry-on bags and to take a final look around the room savoring
Saturday, April 1, 2023 As usual, I headed to Horizons early to get coffee. I enjoyed watching the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean as we were at sea and not scheduled to dock in Shimizu until noon. Eventually, Jane joined me and we ate a light breakfast of pastries together
Friday, March 31, 2023 We departed early for our land excursion today, boarding the “Happy Bus” painted bright yellow and featuring various big-eyed creatures. Kochi, on the island of Shikoku, is a prefectural capital situated at the confluence of several rivers and so, is dominated by waterways. Our first destination
Thursday, March 30, 2023 Today, we docked in the cruise port of Hososhima, part of the larger port city of Hyuga. After getting our laminated bus tickets in the Nautica Lounge, we disembarked from the ship and boarded Bus 1 with Mirasume as our guide. We rode inland via a
Wednesday, March 29, 2023 We have a television in our stateroom to view movies as well as U.S. and European TV channels. Not much time for such a mundane activity, but we have occasionally tuned in to listen to the U.S. morning news while preparing for bed. Via the television,
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 The Nautica was still at sea when I got up this morning, on schedule to dock in Busan, South Korea, at 11 am. Jane and I enjoyed a leisurely morning including going topside to watch the city loom ever larger. We cruised past the U.S.S Nimitz
Monday, March 27, 2023 After our usual morning routine, we boarded Bus 7, to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Our guide, Yuko, spoke clear English and taught us a few Japanese words in addition to background information about the park. We disembarked from the bus on the Aioi Bridge.
Sunday, March 26, 2023 Today, I think I have finally reached escape velocity and broken out of jet-lag’s gravitational pull. I now have a regular eating and sleeping pattern (albeit, I get up at 4-5 am). Despite returning to my normal status of existence, I was taken aback by the remarkable hidden treasure
Saturday, March 25, 2023 We woke up to cloudy skies but pleasant temperatures. The Nautica is docked in Kobe, a town near Osaka (Japan’s third largest city) and about a two-hour drive to Kyoto. We had time to conduct more explorations of the ship because our land excursions didn’t depart