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.

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:

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).

Flowers — April 2024

 [I don't know why I didn't write this up at the time.]

Link to many more photos. Definitely worth viewing.

In April 2024, we went on a one-day tour to see flowers in northern San Diego County, specifically, at the Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Gardens in Encinitas and the Flower Fields in Carlsbad.

The tour, Petals and Peace, from Good Times Travel, is no longer offered.

Click this photo to read the caption:

Tucson — November 2025

Mine tourists

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

We took a group tour to Tucson and vicinity. It went pretty well. The weather was good. We stayed at a resort hotel, but had no time to use the resort facilities. Also, oddly, the only evening dining options were the limited bar menu or room service. They apparently expect guests to eat dinner elsewhere, but our group schedule didn't include dinner stops, so were stuck with the hotel. And because the hotel is rather isolated, there were no nearby restaurants to walk to, either.

We began with a morning tour of the city. That included a stop at Mission San Xavier del Bac, but I didn't go in. In the afternoon, we went to the Titan Missile Museum, going underground to the launch control center, including a simulated launch, and viewing a Titan II missile in the launch duct.

Tombstone was not for me. The tourist street was like many others, and I'm not much into the famed gunfight at the O.K. Corral, especially not in triplicate: first a short movie about it, then the actual site, looking at eight mannequins of the participants and listening to a recording telling the story again, followed by a reenactment with live actors. Plus the next day, our tour director showed the 1957 movie about it (Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas) on the bus. Sigh. 

I did like the adjacent C.S. Fly's Photo Gallery of mostly 1880s photos.

Next was the Copper Queen Mine tour, wearing hard hats, safety vests, and carrying miner's headlamps, riding an original mine train, straddling a bench seat, into the mine. At several stops, our retired miner guide told us about mining and miners' work, tools, and lives. 

On our way to and from Tombstone and the mine, we passed the 'Boneyard' the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base — over 4000 out-of-service military aircraft in row after row, sitting alongside the highway.

Because of the federal government shutdown, we could not tour Saguaro National Park, but we took photos nearby. Our substitute stop was the Tucson Botanical Gardens. I liked the butterfly pavilion and the masses of marigolds in the Frida Kahlo garden.

Kartchner Caverns was OK, but they had some very annoying rules: 

• no cameras or smartphones (!!) (Nope, I have no photos.)
• "no food or drink past this point" at the door of Visitor Center (?!) but despite that, when I asked, they said a water bottle is OK, as long as it has a cap, and they couldn't explain the contradiction
• leave all purses and bags in a locker, and the lockers aren't free (!!) and require four quarters (who has that?!!) and there's no change machine (!!) and you have to go inside to ask for quarters in exchange for bills (!!) 

GRRR.

We spent one morning at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum — part zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, and natural history museum.

At Biosphere 2, I particularly liked the lung, a cylindrical tank containing a flexible membrane attached to a heavy metal plate, which rises and falls to equalize pressure. I was also looking forward to seeing the ocean, but there wasn't much to see. 

Copper Canyon — October 2025

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

We took a group tour to Copper Canyon (Barrancas del Cobre) in Mexico. The weather was good: mild temperatures and daytime rain only twice. 

Copper Canyon is remote, requiring several days to get to either end. Our tour began in Phoenix, continued by bus to San Carlos on the Sea of Cortez in the state of Sonora, then past the giant Mayo Deer Dance statue to El Fuerte in the state of Sinaloa. Dinner included a Zorro performer, because the hotel claims to be on the site of the birthplace of Zorro.

In the morning, we enjoyed a gentle float trip on the El Fuerte River. After lunch, a female version of the traditional Yaqui Deer Dance, followed by nine other dancers, each with an elaborate costume, and ending with a female Zorro dancer. (Click here to view a separate photo album of all these dancers.)

That night, our tour director Carlos told us he had been in pain for the last two days, and was now diagnosed with appendicitis! He said he was leaving for the nearest hospital, an hour away, and we would have a new tour director the next evening. We once had a tour with unplanned bus changes, but this was the first time we experienced a change of tour director! (Carlos appears in the background of several photos of the dancers; probably the best shot of him is in the photo of the female Zorro dancer.)

The next day we learned that Carlos had a laparoscopic appendectomy and was doing OK. Directorless, the hotel staff took us to begin the canyon train ride, frequently along the very edge of the canyon, finishing at the small town of Barrancas in the state of Chihuahua, where we stayed in a hotel on the rim of the Copper Canyon, at an elevation of 7,300 feet. While there, we also shopped from the indigenous Tarahumara artisan vendors.

When we left the canyon, we returned to our bus and traveled to the city of Chihuahua. There, our new tour director, after only a few days, had been speaking too loudly too long and now had laryngitis, so we got one more tour director to speak for him. At our farewell group dinner that night, we were serenaded by a Mexican band. The next day, we went to El Paso, where the tour ended.

Iceland Cruise — July 2025

Our cruise ship (not my photo)

Link for more photos. (View the photos individually to see the captions. And see below for a second photo album of the botanic garden.)

Our first-ever cruise, encircling Iceland. Summary: almost no rain and pretty moderate temperatures, ate good food, saw beautiful scenery, lost an important and expensive first day, went to some onboard entertainment, visited several towns, saw waterfalls but almost none of the country's famed geographic wonders. For full details, read on.

Iceland has been on my travel wish list for a while, mainly for its geography. I saw an inexpensive 8-day cruise around the island with stops in four ports and decided to try it. It would be our first cruise.

When selecting a stateroom, I discovered why the cruise was relatively cheap: In the cheapest category, there was only one room available, and it had no outside window. The next level up had no rooms available. I went up one more level and took a room with an obstructed view window, and, I realized later, on the ocean rather than the land side, meaning we would only see water most of the time. I added a basic wifi package, and four shore excursions. I declined booze packages, fancy dining packages, spa packages, etc. Without paying $40/day for the cheapest beverage package, you don't even get sodas! (I'll buy some to bring onboard.) After all the additions, the cruise is no longer "relatively cheap."

We were to fly to Chicago then to Reykjavik. In the wee hours of the morning, over Newfoundland, halfway from Chicago to Iceland, the pilot said we were returning to Chicago! There was new volcanic activity in Iceland, and jets can't fly through volcanic ash. Here's the track of our flight:

Sounded reasonable, and we were trying to figure out just when we might get to Iceland or whether we would get there at all, but passengers discovered that NO other jet headed for Reykjavik had turned around. United Airlines provided us with alternative flights, free hotel and meals, but no one was happy. In our case, the suggested alternative flights meant waiting another day in Chicago (!!) and an added stop of more than 11 hours (!!) in Canada. Instead, I booked a flight on Icelandair. We needlessly lost one pre-paid hotel night and our pre-paid full day Golden Triangle tour. I will later hassle with United over just how much of an airfare refund I can get. (P.S. I did get a refund for the unused flights.)

I didn't think of it at the time, but what I should have done is extend the trip by a day or two and try to do the Golden Triangle tour after the cruise.

There was a little drizzle at the Reykjavik airport, but none when we got to town. We did not get to the hotel until after noon. We slept for a while, had a bit of dinner, bought the sodas for the cruise, and did no activities.

Boarding the ship involved health questions, security briefing, lines for photos, searches, sea passes, and more, but went fairly quickly. The first day, I opened one of the two 0.75 liter bottles of Evian water. I thought they were complimentary. They were not; after taxes and crap, that bottle cost me $7.21! Grrr! That first evening, there was a not very well publicized LGBT get-together; out of over 2500 passengers, there were only two other men and one woman who showed up. The second day was completely "at sea," but we did go to an onboard magic show. Meals are good, and because we are often full, we skipped a couple.

We went to a presentation about the Vikings. The next day included our first excursion, watching Icelandic horses and visiting a dairy farm.

The following day had two excursions. In the morning, we went to the Goðafoss Waterfall and the Akureyri Botanical Garden. (See second photo album about the garden) The afternoon excursion said it would be a "narrated drive through Akureyri; Laufas Folk Museum; Tour the turf farmhouse" Well, the Laufas Folk Museum included the turf farmhouse, but the rest of the excursion was the Goðafoss Waterfall and the Akureyri Botanical Gardens! That's right, a repeat of what we did in the morning. I'm pissed that I paid for both excursions when we could have just done one! I complained to the Shore Excursion people that the two descriptions should have explicitly said that they were nearly identical and that customers should not even be allowed to book both of them without acknowledging that they were practically the same.

Our fourth and final excursion was OK, not great. Most interesting was driving through a one-lane tunnel with two-way traffic! (There are short pull-out lanes every so often for the traffic in one direction to yield to oncoming traffic. Click here for a 40-second video.)

Overnight we were north of the Arctic Circle. We received certificates saying we were now in the Order of the Blue Nose.

I did use the swimming pool and jacuzzi once. We enjoyed a Broadway show tunes performance on the last night. 

All the Iceland geology I was looking forward to? We saw almost none of it! Missing the Golden Triangle tour was a major blow, but also the Akureyri excursions did not include any of the nearby lava formations of Dimmuborgir, bubbling mudpots or hissing fumaroles at Namafjall Mountain. 

Our return flight from Newark to L.A. left four hours late, because the aircraft was more than three hours late arriving in Newark. Sigh.

On the whole, interesting enough, but missed most of what I wanted to see. As for cruising, Victor got tired of looking at the sea. If I book another cruise, I might try a river cruise.

DC Area — May 2025

The U.S. Capitol

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

We took this tour of some places around the District of Columbia. The tour specifically did not spend much time in DC itself. On my last trip to DC in 2018 I saw a lot. And whenever I thought of taking Victor there, I wondered how much someone not U.S.-schooled would appreciate all the U.S. history, past presidents' monuments, etc. So I hoped this trip, with just a bit of DC, would be suitable for both of us.

The temperatures were mild, but there was some rain, including thunderstorms.

Our first tourist stop was Fort McHenry in Baltimore, where the sight of the flag during the War of 1812 inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem we know today as "The Star-Spangled Banner." We also stopped at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, where that flag was sown. In the afternoon, we were at the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum. Despite the title, it celebrates all Baltimore teams, including the Orioles and the Colts, so it also has the Colts' 1970 Super Bowl trophy. We enjoyed a short cruise of Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

The next day began with a guided tour of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. After lunch, we stopped at two houses associated with John Wilkes Booth: the Surratt House Museum, Booth's first stop after he shot President Lincoln, where he picked up guns and equipment he had stored there earlier, and the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House Museum, where Dr. Mudd treated Booth's injured leg.

The following day included several home tours: Woodlawn Manor, the Pope-Leighey House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and George Mason's Gunston Hall. We stopped for lunch in Occoquan. Our last daylight stop was the National Museum of the U.S. Army, opened only 4½ years ago. 

After dinner, we had a Washington, DC illumination tour. But just as we were disembarking at our first stop to view the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, there was lightning, and we were hustled back on the bus. We stayed on the bus, viewing the many sights only from the streets. That was a disappointment.

In the morning, we stopped at Alexandria's Christ Church, where George Washington and Robert E. Lee, among many others, were parishioners. We spent the afternoon at Mount Vernon, which I had never seen. The museum was good, but the mansion itself was another disappointment. It is a bit of a hike, with a wait, and then you are rushed through just a few rooms of the mansion, and some of those are currently all torn up for renovation:

The next day started at Lincoln's Cottage, where he spent most summers and developed the Emancipation Proclamation. Next came Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot, and, across the street, the Petersen House where he died.

Italy — April 2025

 

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

We took a two-week tour of Italy. It went pretty well. The weather was cooler than I expected, and there was some rain. My sore hip slowed down my walking and was a constant low-level pain.

Victor had never been to Italy. Fifty years ago, I was in Rome, Florence, and Venice. This tour included those cities along with much more. The tour began and ended in Rome.

Our flight leaving Los Angeles was delayed and we missed our connecting flight to Rome, so we arrived several hours later than expected, and missed the Mouth of Truth, St Valentine Bones, and the first group dinner.

The first full day, we toured the Vatican and the Colosseum. The following day we traveled to Pompeii and Sorrento. Next was the Bay of Naples and Capri, then Assisi the day after. In Verona, we glimpsed Juliet's house and continued to Venice. While in Venice, we cruised to Burano.

Next were Milan, Como, and Lake Maggiore, including the Borromean Islands and the Palazzo Borromeo. After that, we were in Pisa and Florence before returning to Rome.

My favorite stops were Pompeii and the bays and lakes. 

Differences from 1975: The all-too-frequent bag checks (ever since 9/11). Far more tourists now, meaning more crowds and queues. But at least, with smart phone cameras, we took many more photos; Victor took over 500, and I took 75, including many more photos of Michelangelo's David than the single one I had in 1975. 

Oh, and why, at IAH (Houston) and IAD (Dulles) is there no TSA Pre-Check for international arrivals making a connection? GRRR!

Julian, Anza-Borrego, Pechanga — April 2025

 

We took a two-day tour to Julian, Anza-Borrego, Pechanga and Temecula. The forecast called for some rain, but fortunately, it only rained while we were riding on the bus; I never opened my umbrella. It was pretty cold, though, and very windy in the desert.

Julian, in the Cuyamaca mountains east of San Diego, is famous for its apple pie, which we certainly tried.

In the afternoon, we visited Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. There were no wildflowers this year, but we saw a few of the sculptures by Ricardo Breceda. Here are my photos of them. 

We spent the night at Pechanga Resort Casino. Because they are a sponsor of the Lakers, they have a 2020 Lakers NBA Championship ring on display. Here is an 11-second video of the ring. (If necessary, click to enlarge the video.)

The next day, we had lunch at Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula and stopped in Old Town Temecula.

Odd grocery store name

 

Abarrotes is Spanish for groceries. Such small stores are common in Yucatán, frequently named for the owner or the neighborhood. I have no idea how or why this name was selected for a store in the coastal town of Progreso.

Sacramento, Reno, Tahoe — October, 2024

 

At Lake Tahoe

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

I have been trying to get to Lake Tahoe for many years. I first glimpsed it in the mid-1970s, on a day trip from Sacramento to Reno. Years later, I tried twice: I signed up for a cheap trip there in exchange for a timeshare presentation, but that was canceled by the pandemic, and our first trip after travel re-opened, with Good Times Travel (GTT), was to include Tahoe, but a nearby wildfire made it impossible.

This trip, also with GTT, partly overlapped with two earlier GTT trips. It began with the same train ride we used on our trip to Pismo Beach, this time followed by a bus ride to Monterey. The next day we went to Felton, where we visited Roaring Camp, and took the narrow-gauge tourist railroad through the redwoods. We continued to Sacramento.

In Sacramento, we visited the capitol, Old Sacramento, and the California State Railroad Museum. I was surprised by the information card at the Gold Coast, a private rail car furnished in Venetian Renaissance replete with a gold and crystal chandelier, a fireplace in the drawing room and brocade tapestry. It explained that the owners, Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, were partners not only professionally but personally.

On a partly rainy day, we took another train through Truckee and the Donner Pass to Reno. The next day, we toured Carson City, Virginia City, and Reno, and had a short train ride aboard the Virginia & Truckee Railroad. The day was too cold, too windy, again partly rainy, with a touch of snow (!), and Virginia City was blanketed with Trump signs, and I mean at tourist shops not private homes!

The weather cleared up the following day, for our lunch cruise on Lake Tahoe. From there, we went to Mammoth and stayed at the same hotel we used on our previous visit there. As before, our hotel room was huge, but this time the two bathrooms were both standard size, not like the enormous one I had before.

On the last day, on our way back to Los Angeles, we stopped at Manzanar National Historic Site.

Oregon — Sept/Oct 2024

At Crater Lake

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

I toured Oregon in 2013 and enjoyed it. This tour was similar but shorter, and I thought Victor would like it. I was worried about rain, but we were in the rain for all of five minutes during the entire week.

After our flight to Portland, we stayed at a lodge overlooking the Columbia River. We left in the morning for Mount Hood and lunch at Timberline Lodge. 

After a night in Bend, we journeyed to Crater Lake National Park. We arrived for lunch, and stayed at Crater Lake Lodge. We had a great view of the lake from our hotel room. (See the photos.) We were there for both sunset and sunrise.

We next stayed two nights in Eugene. We rode dune buggies at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, had lunch in Florence, and stopped at a Willamette Valley vineyard.

Returning to Portland, we had a bit of rain as we boarded for a lunch cruise on the Willamette River, followed by a stop at the International Rose Test Garden. There were still some roses in bloom.

New England — Sept. 2024

There are three photo albums. First, an album of overall trip photos (view the photos individually to see the captions). Second, an album of fall foliage. (There was plenty of color, but not entire landscapes.) And third, a specialized album relating to one museum (see below).

We took a tour that visited all six New England states. The weather stayed mild and, contrary to early forecasts, almost entirely rain-free. Our tour guide, from Rhode Island, had a marked accent. When she spoke of "potty boats," I had to laugh.

The first day, we quickly toured Boston, including stops at Old North Church and Faneuil Hall. We visited Lexington, and Plymouth, where we stopped at Plymouth Rock, Mayflower II, and the Monument to the Forefathers. The next two nights were at Hyannis on Cape Cod. After a stop at the JFK Memorial, we ferried to Martha’s Vineyard.

In Newport, RI, we cruised by many mansions, and toured one, the Vanderbilts' Breakers. In Connecticut, we went to the Mystic Seaport Museum. The next day, in the Massachusetts Berkshires, we stopped at the Norman Rockwell Museum. I do remember and appreciate Rockwell's work, but I was surprised and delighted by their current special exhibit: The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine. My third photo album for this trip is about that exhibit. Yes, it includes some Norman Rockwell, too. After that, a quick stop at the Bennington Battle Monument in Vermont.

The next day began at the Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth Notch, Vermont and continued to Montpelier. Our final full day was in Maine: Portland, Kennebunkport, and Ogunquit, including a lobster dinner. (I had an almost identical lobster dinner in Maine in 2015. See the photo.)

London and Paris — June 2024

 

In the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

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

We took this short trip to London and Paris. The only time I had visited was in 1975, and Victor had never been. The temperatures were mild, but there was a bit of rain in both cities.

In London, we stayed at a hotel right by Marble Arch, but it was completely covered, undergoing restoration (click to enlarge):

Our first full day we had Tootbus tickets, but with three routes, only connecting at certain points, it took time to figure out what to do. My main goal was the British Museum, my favorite museum from my 1975 trip. I decided we could also go to the changing of the horse guards (much much less crowded than the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace) and Harry Potter's Platform 9 3⁄4 (click here for the 3-minute video clip) at King's Cross railway station. We did those, and also took photos of many other sites when the bus stopped. The museum, along with most other places, had many more visitors than I remembered from 1975, and, of course, all the previously unheard of, but now ubiquitous, annoying and time-consuming security checks.

The next day, we had a bus tour of Warwick Castle, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford and the Cotswolds. The following day was open; because of my interest in Alan Turing and computers, we went to Bletchley Park, which I had not seen before.

We then took the train to Paris, via the Chunnel. Our first full day in Paris was open. Because I had visited the Louvre and the Rodin Museum in 1975, and because one of its current exhibitions was "Comics, 1964 – 2024," we went to the Pompidou Centre. It was a bit exhausting, and the comics exhibition had little I hadn't seen or read before, but there was still plenty to enjoy.

Our last two days were busy: a cruise on the Seine, a visit to the third level of the Eiffel Tower, and a Paris City bus tour on one day, and a trip to the palace and gardens of Versailles the next. I had not been to Versailles before.

Pismo Beach — April/May 2024

 

We took this short trip to Pismo Beach and nearby sites. Happily, the weather was mild and it didn't rain. The trip began with a ride to San Luis Obispo aboard Amtrak's Coast Starlight train.

Here's the view from our Pismo Beach hotel room:

More photos:

 - The trip as a whole

 - Sculptures at Sculpterra

 - Frank Lloyd Wright building in San Luis Obispo

In Paso Robles the next day, we visited an olive farm and Sculpterra winery and sculpture garden. (Photo album of the sculptures)

The following day we were at a Clydesdale horse ranch, including lunch in a barn with several of the horses. After lunch, we went on a short Morro Bay cruise. In the evening, we returned to the weekly evening downtown farmers' market in San Luis Obispo that we had visited in December. This time, I made a point of stopping at the doctor's office designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. (Photo album of this building)

We stopped at a luffa farm on the way home.

Mérida — Jan/Feb 2024

Victor with his mother

Queso Relleno Yucateco made by Victor's sister

We go to Mérida so often that I don't usually blog about it, but here are a few photos from our recent visit.

One of the highlights was Parque De La Plancha, opened in November 2023, built at a what used to be a railway station. Over fifty acres, it includes covered walkways, bicycle paths, a large amphitheater, an auditorium, a wading pool, a lake, an outdoor gym, a multipurpose sports field, a large food court, the Railway Museum, children's play areas, a skating rink. Click here for a photo album.

A few photos in Progreso:

And two more photos:

In one store in downtown Mérida 

At a Miró exhibit in downtown Mérida