Author Archives: Sparky
ATW-3 wrapup
The ATW-3, the third and final leg of the ATW, was a 14-day cruise on the Carnival Miracle and little more. The “little more” included the trip from Rome to the port in Civitavecchia and the auto trip (via rented auto) from the port in Tampa to home in Lehigh Acres FL, with a detour … Continue reading
ATW-3 Day 15: Disembarkation in Tampa FL
Our big bags were taken to the terminal by the crew, so we had only our small bags (backpacks, laptop, handbag) to pack in the morning. We had breakfast in the buffet (and said goodbye to a few more friends), then vacated the room and disembarked. The disembarkation took a while – nearly an hour … Continue reading
ATW-3 Day 14: At sea
This was the “say goodbye to new friends” day. On these long trips it is inevitable that we make new friends. Regina, DeDe and Kim to name a few. And a few crew members too. We started with brunch – our only breakfast in the dining room in the 2 weeks. The “skillet cake” had … Continue reading
ATW-3 Day 13: Nassau, Bahamas
We have been to Nassau many times before, so we didn’t expect to do anything we hadn’t done before. But we did. We, accompanied by Regina, walked around town shopping. But 6 ships were in port and everyone had their “gouge the tourists” prices on display. We bought nothing in town. But then Marlene discovered … Continue reading
ATW-3 Days 10-12: At sea
Three more days at sea. Day 10 started with me waking with no Marlene in the room – she had spent all night in the casino, losing lots of money. That early pool of nearly $2,000 in winnings is a distant memory. When she finally appeared, around 8am, we went to breakfast and let the … Continue reading
ATW-3 Days 7-9: At sea
These were the first three of six continuous days at sea as we cross the Atlantic. As is typical with days at sea, they were low-key, do nothing (or not much) days. The “highlights” of Day 7 were some trivia contests where I did moderately well, plus time spent reading and losing money in the … Continue reading
ATW-3 Day 6: Ponta Delgada,Azores
We were treated to an amazing rainbow upon rising. I have never seen such a complete rainbow. And in mostly sunny skies! We had breakfast with Regina again and again she accompanied us into town – Ponta Delgada in this case. The objective was to find some souvenirs and gifts on this, our last port … Continue reading
“The Innocent Man” by John Grisham
Copyright 2006 by Bennington Press Ltd. Published by Bantam Dell, a division of Random House Inc, New York. I grabbed this book before learning that it was one of Grisham’s few non-fiction books. In fact, I didn’t learn that until I started reading it while in Europe on the ATW-2. I don’t often read non-fiction, … Continue reading
ATW-3 Days 4 & 5: At sea
Day 4 started poorly, with the return of our laundry. At usual, the results were less than acceptable. This time they got our clothes mixed up with another cabin and we had to go through and pick ours out. And then we had to deal with the fact that 4 shirts and a pair of … Continue reading
ATW-3 Day 3: Cartagena, Spain
Jett and I visited Cartagena in 2018 on our first – and last – transatlantic cruise. It was aborted when Jett developed a critically low hemoglobin issue which forced us off the ship and landed Jett in the hospital. It was not a happy introduction to Cartagena. But with Jett in the hospital for 4 … Continue reading