Author Archives: Sparky
TN_12 Hop 1: Lehigh Acres FL to Brooksville FL
196 miles via FL-80, I-75, FL 52 and local roads. This was a simple hop marred only by some slowdowns in Sarasota and Tampa. We were surprised that our destination was 28 miles from I-75. But there were few turns and the roads were good. We stopped twice before we got on I-75 – first … Continue reading
“Smoke Screen” by Sandra Brown
Copyright 2008 by Sandra Brown Management Ltd, published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc, New York Britt Shelley is a young, ambitious television news reporter in Charleston SC. She is a rising star. But she goes to a party hosted by her old friend and occasional lover, Jay Burgess, has a … Continue reading
“Never Call Retreat” by Bruce Catton
Copyright 1961 by Bruce Catton. Published by Broadway Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc, New York. This is the third of the three books in Catton’s American Civil War Trilogy. It covers from 1864 to the end of the war. As with the other two volumes, it provided me with a new perspective … Continue reading
Carnival Venezia 2 Day 8: Disembarkation
We started the day at 6:30am, finishing our packing (just the little bag and backpack – we packed the large bag last night and put it out to be taken ashore). We had breakfast with Paul and Carol and wished them well on their much longer (about 11 hours) drive home. Then we disembarked, found … Continue reading
“The Inmate” by Freida McFadden
Copyright 2022, 2024 by Freida McFadden, published by Poisened Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Naperville IL The Inmate is my first Freida McFadden book and probably won’t be my last. It was well-written, with intriguing characters and many plot twists. But it read more like a horror story than a mystery. The protagonist, Brooke … Continue reading
Carnival Venezia 2 Days 6&7: At sea
The last two full days on this cruise were at sea, heading back to Florida from the Virgin Islands. Both days were pretty laid-back, as days at sea are wont to be. Both days started with breakfast followed by some time in the casino. Saying the casino wasn’t kind to me would be an understatement: … Continue reading
Carnival Venezia 2 Day 5: St Thomas VI
St Thomas is another port that I haven’t visited in several years. But we must have docked at a different location this time because nothing about this port of call seemed familiar. We had breakfast and I did some editing of Marlene’s photos before we went ashore. When we finally got on land we had … Continue reading
Carnival Venezia 2 Day 4: San Juan PR
I like San Juan. I hadn’t been there for several years, so I was looking forward to being there again. But we didn’t dock until around 10:30am so we had time for both a leisurely breakfast and a few hands of knock rummy before we went ashore. The ship docked very near Old San Juan, … Continue reading
Carnival Venezia 2 Day 3: Amber Cove DR
Our first port was supposed to be Grand Turk but got switched to Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, about a week before departure. Don’t know why – no reason was given. But it really didn’t matter to us. Both ports are of the generic “made for cruise ships” variety – lots of shops and not much … Continue reading
Carnival Venezia 2 Day 2: At sea
Day 2 was a sea day. We started the day with breakfast, then all four of us went down to Guest Services to switch keycards for me and Paul. We had booked the two cabins with me and Carol sharing one cabin and Marlene and Paul sharing the other. This was done so that we … Continue reading