Author Archives: Sparky
ATW-1 Day 21: Noumea, New Caledonia
New Caledonia. Another place that I never expected to see. But, after breakfast with Panama and Amy, we saw it. The city, anyway. I am sure there is much more to the country than what we saw in our walking tour, but we are being very frugal – we still have over 4 weeks to … Continue reading
ATW-1 Days 18-20: At sea
Day 18 was one of the 3 sea days on which I purchased the 24-hour internet plan ($30 per day) so I blogged in the morning. We had no breakfast because we were anticipating a large brunch at the Fahrenheit 451 Steak House – the specialty steak restaurant on the Carnival Luminosa – courtesy of … Continue reading
ATW-1 Days 16 & 17: At sea
On the road again (where the “road” is the Pacific Ocean), headed pretty much due west toward Australia. On Day 16 we had breakfast, then went down to the piano bar to sign up for a free caricature. We will sit for that Monday. We played cards and Marlene kicked my butt, winning all 4 … Continue reading
ATW-1 Day 15: Mo’orea, French Polynesia
Mo’orea is a place I have never been. Never even heard of it. But I have now been there. I can check off an item that never appeared on my bucket list. It is a dramatic island. It looks like the setting for Mutiny on the Bounty – jagged mountain peaks, pristine beaches. I learned … Continue reading
ATW-1 Day 14: Papeete, Tahiti
The second port of call for the Carnival Luminosa was Papeete, Tahiti. I can’t say that Tahiti was on my bucket list because it was so remote that I never thought I would get there. But I have now gotten there. I only saw the city – Papeete – and I think the best parts … Continue reading
“Live to Tell” by Lisa Gardner
Copyright 2010 by Lisa Garder. Published by Bantam Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. The story begins with the mass murder/suicide of his family by the father of Danielle Burton. Killed were Danielle’s mother and her two siblings – a brother and a sister. Danielle was … Continue reading
ATW-1 Days 12 & 13: At sea
We don’t get our cabin cleaned every day. In fact, if it were Marlene’s choice we would never get it cleaned at all. The compromise we have reached is cabin cleaning every 6 days, so Day 12 was a cabin cleaning day. We also got our laundry back. One of the perks of our exalted … Continue reading
ATW-1 Days 9-11: At sea
After our day in Honolulu, the Carnival Luminosa headed toward the second port of call: Tahiti. And I learned something about the islands of the Pacific: rather than heading west, as I expected, the ship headed south. Actually a bit southeast as Tahiti is east of Hawaii. And in the same time zone. So for … Continue reading
ATW-1 Day 8: Honolulu HI
I had been to Hawaii before – sort of. I landed there way back in 1975 while on my way to Australia on a work assignment. But I never left the airport terminal. So I really didn’t get to see it back then. I still haven’t seen much of the state, but at least I … Continue reading
“The Broker” by John Grisham
Copyright 2005 by Belfry Holdings. Published by Bantam Dell, a division of Random House Inc, New York. The eponymous broker in this case is disgraced and convicted Washington lobbyist Joel Backman. He is in prison, having served 6 years of a 20-year sentence (though the nature of his crime is a big vague), when he … Continue reading