In the last post I blogged about our onboard adventures on our Westbound crossing from London, aboard Princess Cruise Line’s Sky Princess, November 2025. This post will focus on some of our port stops along the way. OK, let’s get…
Welcome to New Zealand! First Stop: Picton and the Marlborough Wine Region.
After 3 very rough days at sea on our crossing from Sydney thru the Tasman Sea, we arrived at our first port of call, Picton New Zealand. As our cabin was located in the very aft of our ship, the…
Touring Perth and The Swan Valley
On our second day in Perth, we met our new friends Tracey and Michael at our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Perth, for breakfast. Tracy and Michael are friends with Manuela, and we quickly all got along well. As we were…
Welcome Aboard the Pacific Explorer!
After spending three days in Adelaide, Steve (DOS) and I headed to the port of Adelaide for our five night repositioning cruise to Perth, Western Australia. Our Adelaide friends Manuela and Jenny were traveling with us on the cruise, and…
Touring the Barossa Valley!
On our first full day in Adelaide, Steve (DOS) and I took a full day wine tour thru the beautiful Barossa Valley, only an hour’s drive north of the city. We used CP Tours and Charters for our wine tasting…
Chocolate, Cheese, and Wine Tasting in the Yarra Valley with a German Dinner!
Yarra Valley Chocolateria: The next day (Saturday) our friend Ian drove us around in his large SUV vehicle to several places outside of Melbourne for a multi-hop around the Yarra Valley. We first went to a huge chocolate factory, which…
Touring Around Seattle Before Taking The Amtrak Empire Builder Train Home!
After a long and eventful trip to Seattle (previous post), Steve DOS and I slept well the first night at the Hyatt Olive 8 Hotel in Seattle. This hotel is part of the Hyatt Chain and directly across the street…
February Days at Home and around Central Florida
After so many years of traveling for work and leisure, it’s been nice being retired and home for a few weeks. Steve (DOS) and I both have enjoyed relaxing and catching up errands around the house, visiting with friends, neighbors,…
Happy 60th Birthday Steve (UNO)!
Note: This post was originally started on my birthday August 2nd, and now I’m finally finishing it up a month later! I’ve been busy at home catching up on quite a few things, and feeling lots better now from my…
Auto Train Home to Florida!
It’s 4:30pm as I write this and Steve (DOS) and I just boarded the Amtrak Auto Train here in Lorton, VA (just south of Washington D.C.), which will take us nonstop to Sanford (Orlando) Florida overnight, arriving around 10am. The…