Category Archives: Uncategorized

We woke up in Rotterdam about 4:45 am local time on July 25, very happy to have slept as long as we did after our long travel day. If you read my post on planning this trip, you know that … Continue reading →

July 23-24, 2025 It was nice to have a reasonable start to our travel day to begin our trip! Our friend picked us up at 8:00 a.m. to take us to the Phoenix airport.  Upon arriving, we learned our flight … Continue reading →

The genesis of our next big adventure was a phone call from Cindy, one of our close friends from Boise, in late summer 2023.  She was interested in a particular Holland America cruise because it included western Ireland and asked … Continue reading →

Our last day in Sydney, February 9, 2025, was spent in the Blue Mountains, ninety minutes outside the city.  We met for our tour at 6:55 a.m. and our guide introduced herself as “Rin, It rhymes with gin, and Rin likes … Continue reading →

Our second full day in Sydney was a really good day.  We had tours of the Sydney Opera House and a food tour called the Tastes of Sydney. First, we learned to use the Sydney light rail.  We had been … Continue reading →

After days of rain in Cairns, the morning of February 6, 2025 was sunny and warm, but also really humid.  We thought briefly of the snorkeling that might have been but were mostly just grateful that we got it in. … Continue reading →

We woke up on February 4, 2025, half expecting our Great Barrier Reef snorkel trip would be canceled – and it was.    It occurred to us that our accommodation in the hotel was room 1313 on the 13th floor!  … Continue reading →

We were in Cairns on February 3, 2025. We learned that the city name is pronounced Cans, with a bit more emphasis on the “a”. We could still see the Crown Princess from our balcony. The ship did not leave … Continue reading →

On February 2, 2025, we got up early, as recommended, to be on deck as we sailed into Sydney Harbor. The Opera house was dark, but its shape was still evident. The views were definitely worth getting up for! The … Continue reading →

It was Saturday, February 1st, the day before we left the ship. We went to an interesting coffee chat – perhaps the most interesting of all the interesting coffee chats!  This chat was with the hotel manager on the ship. … Continue reading →