Iberian Cruise — July/August 2026

 

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao

Cruise route

Once again, multiple photo albums:

 - Gaudi in Barcelona

 - Photos at cruise ports

 - Some of the gay cruise group (including photos by others)

 (View the photos individually to see the captions.) 

We took a cruise with stops in Barcelona, Tangier, Lisbon, La Coruña, Bilbao, and Bordeaux. We added an extra day at the start to make up for things we missed in 2023 when we were last in Barcelona, primarily Parc Güell. We signed up for the cruise with a gay group; there were 23 folks in the group, among the probably 2000 passengers on the ship.

The weather was warm with rain only one morning, mostly while we were on a bus. There were some long waits at the beginning and end of the cruise, and I lost one of my favorite tote bags (see below), but other than these small problems, the trip went well. 

A few annoyances on the ship: The free "basic wifi" was limited to one device, which had to be my laptop and meant that I did not have wifi on my phone (doubly aggravating because they always wanted you to use the app for information). In the main eatery, music was always playing; there were no quiet tables. Three "at sea" days got tiring, particularly since ship entertainment and major activities were in the evenings, leaving too much dead time during the day.

I need to stop getting foreign currency when I travel. I no longer use it, because everyone takes credit cards, even for just a soda. With unfavorable conversion rates plus the fees to use an ATM to get foreign cash and later to deposit it, it cost me nearly $40 USD to needlessly hold €150!

Our extra day in Barcelona met expectations. Now I'm happy with what I've seen of Gaudi's work. For me, our guide talked too much, but all guides do. At Casa Batlló, the old coal cellars of the building now house the exhibition “GAUDÍ CUBE: In the mind of Gaudí”, by Refik Anadol - a 6-sided LED cube completely enveloping us. We had been warned it might be unsettling for some. Early on, I felt I was falling and grabbed onto something stationary - Victor's shoulder. A bit later, I felt I was truly zooming through a surrealistic tunnel.

At our first group dinner on the ship, I ordered Meyer Lemon Cheesecake from the dessert menu. I and the entire table were surprised by what showed up:

I had no idea that this is a famous and popular dessert at this onboard restaurant. It is shaped and colored to look like a bright yellow lemon. The hard white-chocolate shell flavored with Meyer lemon contains a creamy cheesecake center. (The photo above is not mine; I don't generally take photos of my food, so I did not have my camera.) 

Victor was particularly happy with our balcony hammock, since he grew up sleeping in hammocks. He used it a lot, both in daytime and at night.

The second evening, we attended one show by The Magnets, an a cappella and beatboxing group.

In Tangier, there was more walking and stair-climbing than I expected. At one high point, our guide said Gibraltar (and more) are visible on clear days, but on our visit, it was too foggy. We visited the Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Cultures, followed by an oil and spice shop (fun because after almost each description, they would come around with samples to smell or try), then a carpet shop (less interesting than the one in Istanbul in 2023), and finally, the American Legation Museum. Back on the ship, we watched some of a magic show before dinner.

In Lisbon, we visited St. Jerome's Monastery, Belem Tower, and the Monument of the Discoveries. On the ship that evening, we watched some of the drag queen entertainer The Diva.

In La Coruña, we visited the Tower of Hercules and some of the nearby statues (see the photos), some of the city's architecture, and the central plaza. We stayed there as the group dispersed. Later, despite being in the right place at the right time (actually for more than an hour before and more than an hour after), we inexplicably missed the bus back to the ship. The fifteen-minute walk wasn't a big deal, but I had left one of my favorite New Yorker tote bags on the bus, and despite multiple calls by the ship, I never got it back. In the bag were a partly read magazine, one folder with sudoku and crossword puzzles for dead times, one folder with a copy of our marriage certificate in case of emergencies, one pair of sunglasses, my usual travel hat, a ballpoint pen, and a granola bar.

In Bilbao, the Guggenheim Museum, inside and out, did not disappoint. Again, see the photos.

Bordeaux was our final port to visit. At a lunch break, we walked to the river, and the Place des Quinconces, with columns along the river, and the Girondins Monument. Later, we went to Les Bassins des Lumieres, to see digital art focused mainly on Matisse and Frida Kahlo.

UK & Ireland — June/July 2026

 

At Stonehenge

Link to more photos. (View the photos individually to see the captions.) 

We went on a two-week long trip to England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. We had been to London and Stratford in 2024, but had not seen the rest. Here's a map view of the itinerary:

and a stickers view:

There was off-and-on rain, but happily, we were often traveling on the bus during much of it. The temperatures in many places were a bit cool, despite a continent-wide heat wave. Between cities, the views were mostly lush green, with occasional dotting of sheep or cattle. Blake's "green and pleasant land" kept running through my head. Click here for a second album of photos of greenery.

This was a tour with additional optional parts that you could buy. We paid for five of the fourteen optional pieces. In the photo captions, (*) indicates that some of our group did more at that place, but not us. We hit many, many sites during the trip. There are more photos than usual, and the photos tell most of the story. The following text is mostly a recital of our stops, with links to explain each item. 

From Stonehenge, we went to Bath, relaxed in Grand Parade park, then admired the Royal Crescent and the Circus. After a night in Cardiff, we stopped in Stratford-upon-Avon, then Liverpool, with some Beatles sites (see the photos). On the way to Dublin, we stopped in two Welsh towns, Conwy and that famously long-named village. This is only souvenir I bought during the trip:

In Dublin, we stumbled on a small Pride festival in the Temple Bar district (see the photos), and toured the Glasnevin Cemetery and the Irish Emigration Museum, before closing the day at the Merry Plowboys gastro pub. The highlight of the next day was Blarney Castle, where Victor kissed the Blarney Stone. (Yes, it's in the photos.)

At Kerry Bog Village, we had Irish coffee and played with Irish wolfhounds and bog ponies. Along the Wild Atlantic Way, we watched Irish sheepdogs working in Wicklow. 

After a stop in Limerick, we went to the Cliffs of Moher. The following day, we entered Northern Ireland, stopping at Derry/Londonderry and the Giant's Causeway. In Belfast, some visited Titanic Belfast. 

A ferry took us to Scotland. On the way to Edinburgh, our first stop was to view highland cows (their horns reminded me of Texas longhorns), followed by a whisky distillery in the Highlands. We had a bus tour of Edinburgh highlights, and we were glad to be on the bus because it was raining.

Upon re-entering England, we glimpsed Alnwick Castle and Gardens, where some of our group practiced flying a broomstick on the very spot where Harry Potter and his class mates had their first flying lesson in the film. After a night in York, we visited Cambridge and then returned to London. We strolled Greenwich Park and viewed the Greenwich Observatory. The next morning, we flew home.

Make windmills great again

Last week, the Los Angeles Times printed an Associated Press article about the Pentagon freezing required reviews for wind farms. 

I sent this letter:

Paint the windmills gold and rename them "Trump Power Mills."

That should overcome the government's opposition.

The LATimes did not print my letter.

(The above image was generated by Gemini AI at my prompt. It's my first use of AI.)

South Coast Botanic Garden and L.A. Harbor Cruise

 

Victor in the Rose Garden

We took a one-day tour to visit the South Coast Botanic Garden and cruise the Los Angeles Harbor.

Just now, the Botanic Garden includes an exhibit of troll sculptures by Thomas Dambo. Click this link to see ten photos of the Botanic Garden, including several trolls. (As always, view the photos individually to see the captions.)

At the harbor, I took this photo because my father was a Merchant Marine Veteran:

Autographs — George and Brad Takei

 

George Takei spoke and signed books at an event in East L.A. this afternoon. After twenty minutes of one speaker introducing another who introduced another, with lots of thank yous, finally Takei answered prepared questions for about forty minutes, mostly about his latest books, They Called Us Enemy and My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story.

There were hundreds of attendees, many with multiple books they wanted signed. (It was announced in advance that he would not sign any Star Trek memorabilia or engage in conversation.) I was about at the halfway point in the signing line, and it was more than ninety minutes before I got to the front. As I waited, after a while, they said Takei would sign no more than three books per person. A bit later, they changed it to one book. And soon after that, they said he would only sign his name, no personalizations. I did also get his husband's signature.

My Klein bottle

(Klein bottles only exist in four-dimensional space, but a self-intersecting model of a Klein bottle can be made in 3D.)

Sometime in my teen years, I read the Time-Life book Mathematics. One photo caught my eye: Princeton math professor Albert W. Tucker's Klein bottle: 

I wrote to him asking where he had got it.  He wrote back and said the University glassblower had made it for him, but had found it very difficult, and wasn't going to do it again! 

But in 1999, a story in the San Jose Mercury News said someone in Berkeley was selling these. I bought the small one pictured at the top of this piece. I exchanged a few emails with the seller, Cliff Stoll, and realized I had read his book The Cuckoo's Egg. Click here for his Klein bottle store.

San Antonio Fiesta — April 2026

Link to more photos. (And see below for a separate photo album of Fiesta royalty.) As always, view the photos individually to see the captions.

I hadn't been to any Fiesta events since I was a kid, and Victor, of course, had never been. Also, Fiesta has grown quite a bit over the years. When I was young, I remember only two parades, the Battle of Flowers and the Flambeau. Now there's an additional nighttime river parade, a Band Fest, a carnival, and minor events.

Earlier this year, after successfully purchasing tickets for three parades and the Band Festival, I thought, "Now I only have to hope it doesn't rain." Alas, as we left L.A. for San Antonio, the forecast showed rain likely much of the week. Sigh.

Sure enough, the first event for which I had bought tickets ($35 each), the Monday night Texas Cavaliers River Parade, was canceled due to a flash flood warning just two hours before it was scheduled to begin. No refunds, either; the money goes to charity.

One block from our motel, at night, I saw multi-colored changing lights on freeway columns. (See the photos.) I discovered it was Light Channels by Bill FitzGibbons.

Despite the rain early in the week, at least the meals with friends would continue. On Tuesday, we had lunch with my cousin Rochelle and dinner with two friends. Similar outings on Wednesday and Saturday.

But on Saturday, Rochelle's son sent me a message that his mother died Friday morning! Apparently a stroke.

The Band Festival was entertaining. The finale had 4100 musicians from more than 40 high schools on the field playing together (see my 19-second video of that), followed by fireworks. Plus, my alma mater, Jefferson HS, won two awards. (Scroll down on this webpage to see the award winners.)

As we left the Band Fest, we experienced the first of two Uber refusals! I asked for Uber, and was notified of the driver and updated on his arrival. But when it said he would arrive in 1 minute, Uber suddenly said, "Searching for another driver" and we had to wait another 14 minutes! The same thing happened a few days later!

The Battle of Flowers parade began in 1891. It remains the highlight of Fiesta. Nowadays, it features a plethora of titled "royalty". The titles are pretty wild; here are a few: 

• Duchess of Luxurious Textile Motifs
• Duchess of Ornamental Supremacy
• Duchess of Oceanic Synchronicity
• Duchess of Panoramic Perfection
• Duchess of Exemplary Urban Splendor
• Duchess of Unconventional Resilience

Their gown trains are enormous, and these women are almost always wearing cowboy boots! Click here for a photo album (mostly from the Fiesta program book).

The Flambeau Parade is touted as "America's Largest Illuminated Night Parade". Another fun event.

The King William District is a Texas State Residential Historic District. At the end of Fiesta Week, they have a Fair, including a parade. This parade has some quirky entries -- lots of dogs, including the San Antonio Corgi Club, a Star Wars Society, a Roper Romp of orange-wigged women in kaftans mimicking Helen Roper from Three's Company. (I never heard of Mrs. Roper and had to look this up), and several gay-related groups. See the photos.

Las Vegas — April 2026

 

Link to more photos. (As always, view the photos individually to see the captions.)

We took a quick group tour to Las Vegas, mainly to see The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere. It was a bus trip, only two nights and one full day in Las Vegas.

It was raining as we left Los Angeles, but it stayed dry in Las Vegas and when we returned. We stayed at Paris Hotel and Casino, and had good views of the Eiffel Tower and, across the street, the Fountains of Bellagio.

In our short free time, we walked two blocks to view some of the art at Aria's Shops at Crystals. It was easy to see the Turrell work and the Treehouse Restaurant (see the photos) and a few others, but the Halo water feature I was looking forward to was not operating. Here's someone else's 40-second video of that.

Getting the bus parked and getting to our seats at the Sphere was a minor ordeal, but I did enjoy the re-mastered, AI-enhanced film on the 160,000 sq. ft. screen, complete with immersive multisensory effects like tornado wind, scents, moving seats, flying monkeys, and falling "leaves" and "apples". An apple fell right in my lap (see the photos).

Scammers

 

Although I've used craigslist before with no problems, I've now had two bad experiences, one as a buyer and one as a seller.

I previously wrote about the seller who was a fraud and cost me a large amount of money in 2024.

Now, a buyer has tried to cheat me. It was close, but I avoided this one:

Someone replied to a craigslist ad I posted, sent a large check so I could pay $2190 to the person who was going to pick up my item and transport it to another state. 

The buyer kept pushing to speed this all up, but fortunately, I waited long enough to see my bank reporting that the check was bad!

Poetry Analysis

Early in my freshman English class at Rice, we were asked to write a brief analysis of a specific poem. Mine received a mediocre grade, and the grad student Teaching Assistant explained that I had completely ignored the obvious Christian religious symbolism.

Well, duh. Not being a Christian, it wasn't obvious to me. 

But that convinced me: for the rest of the semester, I adapted Cliffs Notes analyses and got better grades. 

And I took no further English courses.