Our Panama Canal Adventure

We just returned this past Saturday from a 13-day cruise from Miami to Los Angeles through the Panama Canal.  Needless to say, we had a great time.

We sailed on the Norwegian Star, operated by the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL).  This photo of our ship was taken during our stop in Acapulco.  We thought NCL provided a very good cruise experience, especially since it is one of the least expensive cruise lines.  The food and service were both good, and we had excellent entertainment every evening.  Our cabin was smaller than what you'll find on many ships (142 sq. ft.), but it was sufficient for our needs.

We left from Miami on Sunday, December 5.  For much of the first full day at sea, we sailed past the coast of Cuba.  I didn't realize Cuba had so many mountains. 

Our first stop was in Cartagena, Columbia, the first time we've been in South America.  Cartagena was founded by Spain in 1533.  The older part of the city is inside a stone wall built for defensive purposes and that took many decades to complete.  The buildings above are in that part of the city.  Note the ever-present members of the military/police.

Towering over the city is the fortress of San Felipe, which was completed in 1686.  It helped to successfully defend the city against a British attack in 1741.  The fort was later destroyed by the French in 1697 and rebuilt between 1762 and 1769.

When you visit Cartagena, you are met with a swarm of aggressive street vendors selling everything from hats to t-shirts to jewelry.  In this photo alone, you can spot five or six vendors.  There was one guy who would let you take a picture of him and his sloth for $2.  In retrospect, I wish I would have done it!

From Columbia, it was on to the Panama Canal.  We got up early that morning only to learn the the canal was closed!  For the first time ever, the canal was closed due to weather (heavy rains).  But we were only delayed a couple of hours.

The journey through the canal is a fascinating experience.  This was a cloudy and somewhat rainy day, but that really didn't detract from the experience.  This photo was taken shortly before we entered the first lock.  In front of us is a Holland America passenger ship.

The Star is at the maximum size for going through the canal.  I believe there was about two feet of clearance on each side of the ship.  You can see in his photo just how close we were to land.

These are the locomotives that guide the ship through the canal.  Because of the size of the Star, it took eight locomotives, four on each side.

There are two lanes in the canal, though only one was being used when we went through.  This photo gives you a good view of the other lane.  And if you look closely on the right side, you might see someone you recognize.

And hopefully you recognize both of these folks.  I believe we were in the last of the three locks when this was taken.  It was just starting to rain quite hard, so we had to hurry to get the picture taken so we could run for cover.

With the canal behind us, we were back on the Pacific Ocean side of the Americas and heading to our next destination -- Costa Rica.

Our stop was in Puntarenas, though we didn't see much of the city.  Instead, we took an excursion to see the rain forest.  Ironically, it was a bright and sunny day. This photo was taken near the beginning of our walk through the forest.  As you can see, Costa Rica is a very beautiful country.

From there, we ventured into the rain forest.  Part of the walk was over suspension bridges like this one.  You have to understand that neither of us is comfortable with heights, so it was just a bit scary to be about 75 feet up in the air and on this bridge that didn't want to keep still.  We managed to make it over the first two bridges.  When we got to the third, our guide told us to just go across the bridge, turn around, come back and head off in the opposite direction.  But we had a better idea -- watch the others cross bridge and wait for them to return.

We didn't see much in the way of wildlife during our hike.  We were hoping for a monkey or a sloth, but that was not to be.  On the way back, we stopped at place where macaws are often sited.  Sure enough, there were several in the trees.  It's off in the distance, so it's a little hard to see.  But it's right in the middle of the photo.

Our next stop that day was on a bridge that spanned one of Costa Rica's rivers.  We were told that crocodiles would likely be present.  Were they ever!

After Costa Rica, we made the first of three stops in Mexico.  First up was Huatulco.  Because we hadn't seen enough crocodiles, we scheduled a trip to a crocodile preserve.  Unfortunately, it was a 90-minute drive in both directions over hilly, winding and often bumpy roads.  Steph is susceptible to motion sickness.  Even though she was wearing one of those anti-motion sickness patches behind her ear, that was not enough for this trip. 

We were on a small boat that took us through a lagoon.  We actually saw only a few crocodiles, including the one in this photo. 

From there, we went on to Acapulco.  Of course, the biggest attraction there are the cliff divers.  The idea of diving off that cliff is pretty scary.  But actually, I think the climb up would be even worse.  There were about ten divers in all, but the final dive was the highest.  Click here for a somewhat grainy video of that dive.

Almost as memorable is the traffic in Acapulco.  Most of the intersections are uncontrolled -- no traffic lights, no stop signs, no yield signs.  Drivers would just have to force their way through.  And old VW bugs are everywhere.  Like these two, most of them are taxis.

Lastly from Acapulco, here's a photo of us taken up on the side of a hill overlooking the city.  It's a beautiful area but a little too hectic for our tastes.

Our last stop was in Cabo San Lucas.  There weren't any excursions that appealed to us, so we just walked around the downtown area for about 90 minutes and then went back to the ship.  This photo is of the downtown harbor area.

We reached Los Angeles last Saturday morning.  During the 13-day cruise, we met a lot of very nice people from various parts of the country and from several other countries, as well.  That's one of the things we enjoy about cruises.  But we were also very happy to get home.  We decided that nine or ten days is about the right length for a cruise for us.

We don't have any more cruises scheduled, though we're sure we'll take some more.  Our next trip will be to Hawaii in March.  It wasn't something we were planning, but some really good airfares became available, so we figured, why not?

Our New Home

We've been living in our townhouse/apartment for about 2 1/2 weeks now, so I decided it's time to share some photos.  We have a three-level townhouse.  The bottom level is a tandem garage that's large enough for our two cars and some storage.  That was very helpful because, even though we downsized quite a bit, it's still a tight squeeze.

The second floor has the living room, dining room and kitchen.  We decided to combine the living room and dining room into what would normally the living room.  It's quite large so that arrangement works well.  The first photo is looking into the living room with the dining area on the left.

This photos shows the dining area from the living room.  We're planning to paint the wall in the back where the window is hanging.

In the other part of the second floor, we've turned what was the dining room into an office.  It's adjacent to the kitchen, which you can see here.  We really like having a breakfast bar again.  Unless we have guests, it's where we eat our meals.

If you look the other direction from the kitchen, you will see our office area, where we spend a lot of time.

Our two bedrooms are on the third floor.  They're a little on the small side so it's difficult to get a photo from inside the room.  This photo shows the master bedroom.

And this photo is the guest bedroom.  That's our cat, Syd, doing what she does about 23 hours a day.

Mount Rainier Trip

This past Thursday, we took advantage of a gorgeous fall day to make a trip to Mount Rainier National Park, which is about a two-hour drive from here.  While we saw many beautiful sights on our cross-country trip this summer, we agreed that the beauty of Mount Rainier and the surrounding area topped them all.  We've included a few pictures for your enjoyment.

Milepost 10,290 (Home!!!)

Well, we're sort of home.  We're staying with Sabrina and Bryan (and, of course, Chloe) until our furniture is delivered next Tuesday.  We arrived in Tacoma early yesterday afternoon.  If you're wondering why we ended up cutting off a week or two of the trip to get here earlier...well, this photo should explain it.

Our new home will be at Pine Street Townhomes, which is next to the Tacoma Mall.  The following is our new contact information:

Address:  4348 S. Pine St., Unit B., Tacoma, WA 98409
Roger's Cell Phone:  (509) 432-3607
Steph's Cell Phone:  (509) 432-3880
(We no longer have a land line)

Thank you for following along on our travel blog.  We appreciated all of the feedback.  We're going to keep the blog going, at least for awhile, as a way to keep our friends and family informed about what we're doing in retirement.

As for our future travel plans, we have booked a Panama Canal cruise in December. We had been thinking of a Panama Canal cruise in the spring but decided to take advantage on a very good deal on the December cruise.

Milepost 8,636 (Milaca, MN)

Our Minnesota stop is just about over.  Tomorrow morning, we'll leave Milaca and begin the drive home.  We'll get to western North Dakota tomorrow and plan to be in Tacoma early Thursday afternoon.

As promised, here's a list of our favorite stops during the trip.

Favorite American History Sites
1: Gettysburg (and our favorite overall)
2: Independence National Historical Park
3: Minute Man National Historical Park
4: Monticello
5: National Civil Rights Museum
6: Jamestown
7: Antietam
8: Yorktown
9: Roosevelt Homes (FDR’s and Eleanor’s)
10: Daniel Boone Home

Honorable Mention: Hermitage, Shiloh, Appomattox, USS Constitution and Saratoga National Historical Park.

Favorite Music Sites
1: Ryman Auditorium
2: Sun Studio
3: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Favorite Sports Sites
1: Olympic Center in Lake Placid
2: Baseball Hall of Fame

Favorites for Just Having Fun
1: Cruise to New England/Canada
2: Niagara Falls

Milepost 8,324 (Woodbury, MN)

We arrived in Minnesota early this afternoon and will be spending some time with our families.  This coming Monday, we head back out on the road in the direction of our new home in Tacoma, WA.  We expect to be there on Thursday of next week (September 16).  Our furnishings/stuff will arrive the following Tuesday.  After nearly four months of living out of suitcases, we will once again have a home!

Yesterday, we were in Schaumburg, IL, to visit Steph's sister-in-law Amy and her family.  We had a delightful time (and a delicious dinner!).  Wish we would have had more time.  That's Amy and Cam with Steph.

Sometime in the next few days, we hope to post a "best of" compilation on our blog detailing our favorite stops during our trip.

Milepost 7,574 (Columbus, OH)

We're in Columbus, Ohio, a stop that allowed us to visit some friends and former colleagues.  Two of the people I worked with in my last job were Karen Olstad and Mike Rathke.  Both are now at WOSU in Columbus.  Tonight, we all got together at the home of Karen and her husband Will.  Will is next to Karen, and that's Mike to the right of me.  We had a wonderful time and enjoyed a delicious dinner.

Earlier today, we went to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH.  As with the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown several days ago, I focused on the teams from Minnesota (Vikings) and Seattle (Seahawks).  And like baseball, the team from Minnesota has the longer history and the greater success.

When you go back to the early days of the Vikings, the best known player was Fran Tarkenton. He was an immediate success with the Vikings in 1961, his rookie year and the first year of the expansion Vikings.  He ended his career holding every significant NFL passing record.

The leader of the defense back then was Alan Page.  In 1971, Page became only the second defensive player to be named the NFL's Most Valuable Player.  After retiring from football, Page became a lawyer and was elected to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The Vikings head coach back in those years was Bud Grant.  Grant, who played both professional football and professional basketball, was one of the NFL's most successful head coaches.

The only member of the Football Hall of Fame who spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks was Steve Largent.  When he retired in 1989, he held several NFL receiving records, including most receptions (819).  Of course, those records are now all held by Jerry Rice, who finished his career in Seattle.

The Football Hall of Fame was enjoyable, though not nearly as good as its baseball counterpart.  I did pretty much skip the section on the Super Bowl.  When your teams are 0-5 in that game, it was just too depressing!

One thing I did learn today was that in 1959, Minneapolis was issued a charter membership in the American Football League, which began play the following year.  However, Minneapolis backed out of that when there was an opportunity for an NFL franchise.  They were replaced in the AFL by Oakland.

Milepost 7,402 (Canton, OH)

We went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland today.  That's an outside view of the museum on the left.  I'd like to show you something from inside but no photos are permitted.  So this will have to do.

Tomorrow, it's the Football Hall of Fame here in Canton.

Milepost 7,335 (Cleveland)

Fall seems to have suddenly arrived around Lake Erie.  We drove from Buffalo to Cleveland today, and the temperature was generally in the 50's and low 60's.  And it was very windy, as you can see in the photo above, taken looking out at Lake Erie from Westfield, NY.

In Cleveland, we're staying across the street from the Quicken Loans Arena (yes, that's the name), which is where the Cleveland Cavaliers play.  And where LeBron James used to play.  I decided it would not be in my best interest to wear a LeBron James Miami Heat jersey.

Tomorrow, we're going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Milepost 7,122 (Buffalo/Niagara Falls)

I learned a couple of things today on our trip to Niagara Falls.  First, Niagara Falls is even more fun that I had anticipated.  And I'm an even worse photographer than I had thought.  You see, I took a whole bunch of photos today only to discover when we got back to our hotel that I had accidentally moved a setting on our camera from still photo to video for about half the photos.  Which meant I got a couple of dozen three-second videos.

We began our visit with a ride on the Maid of the Mist, which takes you past both the American falls and the Horseshoe falls.  And they might as well have called it the Maid of the Driving Rain 'cause there was a lot more than mist.  This photo was taken as we were headed toward the Horseshoe falls (and we got closer to the falls than that boat you see in the distance...wish I had the photos to prove it!). 

From there, we went to Cave of the Winds.  I'm not sure why they use the word "cave," because there's no cave involved.   But there is lots of wind and lots of water.  That's me on the "Hurricane Deck," which is less than 20 feet away from Bridal Veil Falls.

American Falls is pictured in the last photo.  Tomorrow, we're going drive along Lake Erie to Cleveland.

Milepost 7,083 (Buffalo)

Steph and I are fans of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on The Food Network.  We hoped to find a few of these eating establishments on our trip, but somehow it never worked out.  When we'd get to our hotel each day, we were generally too tired to go anywhere beyond a nearby chain restaurant.  Until today.  We arrived in Buffalo, NY, around 3:00 this afternoon, and Steph suggested researching whether there were any Triple-D restaurants nearby.  And we were in luck.

This is the Lake Effect Diner in Buffalo.  It was featured on Triple-D last year.  Click here to watch the video.  We had the haddock that you see prepared in the video, though I had the lemon butter version.  Both versions were very good.  But did you see the grilled mac and cheese in the video?  Absolutely delicious.

On the trip from Albany to Buffalo today, we made a quick side-trip to Rome, NY, to see Fort Stanwix, which was the site of a siege by British forces in August of 1777.  Members of the Continental army were able to hold off the British and their allies for 21 days.  It ended when Continental reinforcements arrived.  The fort you see in the photo is a reconstruction.

Tomorrow, we're going to Niagara Falls.

You might be wondering whether Hurricane Earl will have an impact on our trip.  It shouldn't.  We're too far inland.  But we're sure happy this wasn't the week of our cruise into New England!

Milepost 6,759 (Albany, NY, Days 2-3)

Today was our day to drive over to Cooperstown for the Baseball Hall of Fame.  A summary of that in a bit, but first a report on yesterday.

We drove down to Hyde Park to see the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, known as Springwood.  FDR was inaugurated as the nation's 32nd President on March 4, 1933, and was the only President elected to four terms.  However, he never completed the fourth term, having passed away on April 12, 1945. 

In 1921 at the age of 39, Roosevelt contracted polio and never again walked unaided.  He never gave up hope that he might again walk.  Using iron braces on his hips and legs, he taught himself to walk a short distance by swiveling his torso while supporting himself with a cane.  The path in this photo is where he attempted his own version of physical therapy, trying to reach the road at the end of this path.

Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor (his 5th cousin, once removed, and the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt) were married in 1905.  About two miles away from Springwood was Val-Kill, Eleanor's retreat until Franklin died, when it became her permanent home.  She was never comfortable at Springwood because of her domineering mother-in-law Sara.

So, on to baseball.  We spent nearly three hours today at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  Having been a Minnesota Twins fan since the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota when I was nine, I was especially interested in the Twins' presence at the Hall.  I'm also interested in the Mariners, of course, but until Edgar Martinez takes his rightful place in the Hall of Fame Plaque Gallery, there isn't much to see.

During the Twins' first decade in Minnesota, Harmon Killebrew was the star player.  Known for his massive home runs, Killebrew was one of the top home run hitters in the history of the game.  A native of Payette, ID, Killebrew was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984.

A more recent Twins star was Kirby Puckett, who passed away in in 2006 from a stroke at the age of just 45.  Puckett was instrumental in Minnesota's two World Series victories in 1987 and 1991.

There are entire sections of the Hall of Fame devoted to Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron (curiously, none for Barry Bonds).  This photo shows the ball Ruth hit for a then-record 60th home run in 1927 and the bat he used to hit it.  That record stood until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961.  Despite what the official record books say, in my mind, that record still stands.  As does Aaron's record of 755 career home runs.  Can you tell I'm not a fan of Barry Bonds?  Or Mark McGwire?  Or Sammy Sosa?  Or...well, I guess you get the idea.

Speaking of Hank Aaron's 755 home runs, the ball on the left is the one he hit for #755.  The ball he hit for #715, the one that broke Babe Ruth's record, is in the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame.