R and R CruisinTogether

Our voyage began in Miami, Florida This week, I've been dreaming about our adult children, Marji and Justin, as children and our dog, Shannon, in our previous home.  I've also dreamt about our children, grand children, Grace and Caroline. and cat, Chef, in our current home.  I know their spouses are in there somewhere. Last night, we enjoyed dining with two New York City attorneys, Mary and Mellard.  Mary works for the prosecutor's office specializing in political fraud, bribes, etc.  She is fearful she might not have a job when she returns home?!?!😬 Today was our roughest sea day. so we spent most of the day in the supine position.  We felt like drunken sailors when we tried to walk.  I even did the Smitty Shuffle once. Once we reached the Inside Passage of Alaska, the seas settled and I attended a beer tasting.  Featured, were beers from China, Japan, Australia, Alaska and Fiji.  The more I drank the better they tasted so I'd say the last one w...

                                                                      Monumental mountains are towering over us wherever we go in this state with a population of less than a million.  Alaska is bigger than California, Texas and Montana combined.  The scenery is breathtaking everyday, even in the rain showers again today.  Five eagles gracefully floated by during our walk to and from Cemetery Island.  This is the view before we entered the Cemetery Island Trail.  Many Tlingit people are buried on this island.                                                               ...

 Hiking was our plan today in Sitka, Alaska.  After raining last night and this morning the more challenging trails were too muddy.  Sitka is a fishing town with a population of eight thousand people who clearly recognize the native Tlingits who lived here for thousands of years prior to Russian settlement.  Sitka is quaint and can get overrun with cruise ship passengers from the much larger ships.  As a matter of fact, their voting precinct was open today to decide if the community will limit the size of ship they allow to dock at their cruise terminal.  Sitka National Historical National Park honors the Tlingits with twenty totem poles throughout the park.  We were able to hike through this rain forest along its scenic coastal trail between rain showers. Beak Restaurant, a gratuity free cafe, was our lunch stop today.  We are shown here with Chef Renee Trafton who was a 2023 James Beard Award finalist.  Local salmon and spot shrimp were our...

 Hubbard Glacier is 76 miles long and 6 miles wide where it meets the water.  It is one of the few glaciers in the world that is gaining mass rather than melting at a rapid rate.  If you enlarge the photograph, you will see a large 2400 passenger cruise ship in the lower right corner.  This ship is four times the capacity of our ship and gives perspective to the massive height and width of Hubbard Glacier. The magnificent mountains of Alaska are glorious with the clean water and crisp fresh air offering a new beginning to each day.  As Kristin Hannah wrote in The Great Alone, "Alaska isn't about who you were when you headed this way.  It's about who you become." Dead end is where I was headed when a girl saved me.  I was enrolled in the College of Music at Ohio State when I decided to quit school and go on the road with a rock n roll band at the age of nineteen.  Our band owned a school bus converted to a Fun Bus with bunk beds, a table and room t...

                                                                        Portage Glacier behind Ruth Ann.                                                                                      We hiked from sea level to nearly 1000 feet elevation to reach Portage Pass.      Trailhead where we began our ascent to the snow covered mountain at the top of the photograph.                                            ...

                                                                 Fort Abercrombie State Park, Alaska Trekking poles were finally rendered into service again in North America after laying dormant since South America.  We visited Alaska in 1993 when Marji was 12 years of age and Justin was almost 3 years old riding in a backpack as I hauled him over trails and around towns in The Great Alone.  As soon as we climbed to this viewpoint today, we were reminded of the majestic natural beauty of this wild and wonderful frontier.  Our hearts have been aching for home but feel much better after our rugged hike today. The allure of the clean waters, fresh air and snow covered mountains came rushing back to our memory with every step of our boots over this the moss covered rain forest along t...

 Time zone changes every night for six consecutive nights have caused an hour of time lost each day.  We've been in the North Atlantic Sea for a week and barreling through the Bering Sea today.  It has been cold as the temperature reaches the high 30s during the day, with a wind chill factor of 15 degrees.  Our ship has pitched and rolled with the wind.  We're much more accustomed to the motion of the ocean after nearly five months at sea. Shown above with us as we leave our suite for our morning walk on the top deck is Suresh, our butler.  I know, it reads like we're living at Downton Abbey and in many ways it has felt that way to us.  Everything is done for us, even our laundry.  We could attend high tea every day if we wanted.  Suresh has done much to enhance our voyage.  He brings coffee to us every morning, makes certain we have fresh fruit and beverages in our cabin, brings us the Sunday New York Times, made sure we had everything ...

 Xylosynth player, David Meyer, at last night's show.  It is a xylophone synthesizer that can produce the accurate sound of every mallet instrument and much more.  Combined with an awesome light show and good story telling, David's performance was mesmerizing and like nothing we have seen. While Ruth Ann packs, I am writing another Best Of with her contributions.                                                                                                  Viet Nam Viet Nam has been chosen as our favorite overland tour though we thoroughly enjoyed each overland adventure.  We settled on Viet Nam for its high level of exciting and volume of experiences from the Vespa rides, ri...