A quick August getaway was a second cruise to Bermuda. Our first Bermuda cruise, which I’ve written about in these pages, was in 2010. Covid-19 had put off cruising for three years. Carnival Legend was sailing out of Baltimore on Bermuda and Bahamas cruises. Baltimore is only an hour away, making it a convenient departure point. With that we made a reservation and arrived at Cruise Baltimore at 1:50 p.m. on the appointed sailing day. There was a long queue for parking and a longer one for security and check-in. Bermuda required evidence of a negative proctored Covid-19 test within 48 hours of sailing. We were on board Carnival Legend at 3:15. The Electric Violins with In Trio were playing over the Atrium bar, a cheerful greeting. Heading to the Lido Deck for lunch, a discovery ... read more

Tuesday morning we returned to Manitou Springs to see the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings. The cliff dwellings were moved to this alcove location in Manitou Springs from McElmo Canyon in 1907. (There is continued dispute about how accurate the reconstruction is, but if one is not going to Mesa Verde, this is a good alternative.) The dwellings are very interesting to visit and they do give one an idea of how the Pueblo peoples lived in the 12th century. They are fairly well interpreted. In addition, there are beds of plants used by the Pueblos and other Native Americans placed around the dwellings and these are excellently interpreted. Down from the cliff dwellings are a gift shop and museum building. The museum has a number of displays on Pueblo daily life and material culture. The museum ... read more

Driving from Cheyenne to Colorado Springs on I-25 took about three and a half hours. We stayed in Colorado Springs on Sunday night. Colorado Springs is right at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and close to Pikes Peak. Our objective was to travel to the summit of Pikes Peak, 14,115 feet (4302 m), on Monday. Pikes Peak is a poplar destination which one can ascend by train, by road or by hiking. The Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway was our choice. (It is a popular one. We made reservation long in advance).The cog railway is similar to the mountain railways in Switzerland and very much like the Pilatusbahn we rode in 2019. But the summit of Pikes Peak is more than twice as high as Pilatus and the base, at Manitou Springs, is much ... read more

Saturday began by meeting Drew downtown for brunch at Snooze. It was one of several restaurants in the historic district where people were having breakfast. After breakfast, Drew had a number of errands to attend to before the evening concert. Susan and I struck out on our sightseeing. First stop was the Colorado State University campus. The land grant university was founded in 1870 as the Colorado Agricultural school. The main campus centers around The Oval, laid out in 1909, and its several academic buildings in the Italian Renaissance style. We parked and walked over to the Lory Plaza, the core of the modern campus. The Natural Resources building has a display of Colorado rocks, which make for a good introduction to Colorado geography. In the Lory Student Center is the bookstore, the place to find ... read more

The start of a few days getaway in Colorado. Our trip here was prompted by our son’s completion of his Master’s Degree in Music at Colorado State University. As we would be here, Susan and I planned to extend our stay in the state a few days. My only previous trip to Colorado was to Denver in 1982 to attend a conference. Susan had never been to Colorado. Our United flight from Washington Dulles arrived at 10:10 a.m. Denver is a hub for United and the terminal was very busy. You must make your way to the main terminal for ground transportation. The Budget bus picked us up there to take us to our rental car. All of the car rental company lots are located on the airport exit road. I was surprised how empty the ... read more