I have often told you how much Joy and I enjoy watching couples dance when we go on cruises.  Recently, we decided that we were interested in exploring whether we wanted to participate instead of spectate.  We went with our friends, Carol and Evan, and took an introductory dance class at Arthur Murray-Raleigh last Friday […]

Click for Album It was wonderful to see my family over the Easter holiday. There was quite a nice turn out, but my sister, son, and niece were absent and missed. Tony Campolo has spoken about the importance of ritual in holding social groups together. The ritual of holiday gatherings certainly works that way for […]

Get the Flash Player to see this player. Spring takes on a different meaning when one lives in a cooler climate. New life is breaking out all around us in North Carolina. I hope you enjoy this little video of the flowers and birds I observed this weekend. Some were taken in our yard in […]

Click for Album It was great to see my friends in California last week.  Matt and Marilyn took me to the Coachella Valley Preserve.  We hiked from one oasis to another on the McCallum trail.  It runs along the San Andreas fault.  Of course we all know that said fault is supposed to be where […]

Perhaps you recall that we had decided to pare down our packing list for this cruise. The eight day cruise was our longest yet, plus we arrived in San Juan a day early. We took half our regular luggage. This allowed us to carry on everything outbound.  (Coming back we did check our bags.) I […]

Click for Album Magic carpet ride, indeed.  Fall asleep in one awesome port and wake up in another.  All your food appears on your table, beautifully presented, and flavorful.  Done eating?  Your dirty dishes fly away.  Bored?  Who cued the band that just started playing?  Too much fun?  Drop in the spa and let their […]

Click for Album This was our only cruise line arranged excursion. El Yunque is the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest System. Until 2006 it was the only habitat of the Puerto Rican Amazon, Puerto Rico’s green parrot. It is estimated that there are only about 40 of this endangered species living […]

Click for Album I had some video of the little sand crab you will see if you click through to our album. Unfortunately, it was completely out of focus. He was very cute as he dug his hole throwing sand out behind him. At least I did get a nice snapshot of the little critter. […]

We went to Runaway Beach on Antigua because I had read that one could ride horses there. The horses arrived about the time we were ready to leave and it really did not seem like a great of a spot for horseback riding, so we passed. We did see this beautiful rocky point, adorned with […]

When all was said and done, St. Martin was one of those places where we thought we could spend an entire vacation. Its European flavor, spiced with Caribbean seasoning, with a side of one of the prettiest beaches we have ever seen, makes for a pretty dishy vacation spot. Video of the beach after the […]