Author Archives: Sparky
NCL3 Day 2: At sea
This was a bummer of a day. Marlene woke up sick with a high fever – almost 104 degrees. I gave her some Tylenol and went to breakfast alone. She slept most of the day. Her stomach is upset too, so probably the flu. Glad I got that vaccination. There was a luncheon party for … Continue reading
NCL3 Day 1: Embarkation in Miami FL
Yes, folks, we are off on yet another cruise. This one is “only” 7 days, to Belize, Cozumel and Grand Cayman, on the Norwegian Encore. We booked this cruise because both Marlene and I were each given $800 credits from our trip to Alaska in April (NCL2). That credit could only be applied to a … Continue reading
“Atlantis Found” by Clive Cussler
Copyright 1999 by Clive Cussler. Published by Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc., New York. This is #15 (though I found a list in which it was #14) in the long (27) line of Cussler books featuring Dirk Pitt, Special Projects Director at the (fictional) National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) and … Continue reading
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 wrapup
Each of the three segments of the ATW has its own wrapup (ATW-1, ATW-2 and ATW-3) so all I can add here are some observations about our epic around-the-world trip.