WASHINGTON, D.C. July 29 - August 4, 2009 It had been over twenty-five years since we spent any time in DC, so we were really looking forward to our trip. However, we never guessed we would enjoy it so immensely and consider it to be one of our favorite vacations. It’s the best city in the world for a “fun education,” and it makes history daily! We flew into Reagan National Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday and took the Metro directly to our hotel, the Washington Grand Hyatt. When I say directly, I mean directly because the Metro central station [View Full Entry]

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LONDON May, 2009 There is a reason that London continues to be one of the top tourist destinations in the world : With all of the history, culture, entertainment, shopping, royalty, and just all-around ambiance, it is difficult to top London. This was our third trip to this spectacular city; however, the first two were brief and a long time ago, so we were looking forward to having an entire week to explore. For our friends Ed and Charlotte, it was their first visit, which made it even more fun. Our overnight flight from Houston to London arrived at 9:30 a.m., [View Full Entry]

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EASTERN CARIBBEAN CRUISE January 10 - 17, 2009 Our first foray of 2009 was a delightful cruise on the Celebrity Summit to five islands in the eastern Caribbean: St. Martin/St. Maarten, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, and Aruba. A four-hour, first-class Continental flight took us to San Juan, Puerto Rico, the departure port for the cruise. Early the next morning, we arrived in St. Martin/St. Maarten, nicknamed “The Friendly Isle.” This dual-nation island is part of the Lesser Antilles islands and is only 37 square miles in size (roughly the size of Washington, DC). The d [View Full Entry]

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CRUISING THE EASTERN DANUBE 2008 The perfect way to experience Eastern Europe is from the river that runs through it. The Danube River is one of the world’s mightiest rivers—1,727 miles in length and over two miles wide in some areas. The second-longest river in Europe, it begins in Germany’s Black Forest and meanders through Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Romania before emptying into the Black Sea. Cruise lines have only recently expanded their itineraries to include these former Eastern Bloc countries—previously accessed only by spies during [View Full Entry]

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ITALY: Rome, Florence, Pisa, Tuscany, Venice... March, 2008... Bella Italia! Italy is a place that most people yearn to visit at some time in their lives, and although Bill and I had visited Rome and Venice before, we eagerly accompanied our friends Ed and Charlotte on their first visit to this rich, exuberant culture. We wanted to travel with a spirit of adventure instead of having everything be structured, controlled, and predictable, so we consulted with a company called Italy Source to help us plan our independent travel. They helped us custom-design our trip and arranged museum res [View Full Entry]

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New York City: Four Days of Work and Play When I was given the opportunity to attend an international professional conference in New York City, I jumped at the chance. Bill decided to “tag” along, and the two of us flew to JFK Airport on April 2, 2008. There is no city in the world like New York and no better place to stay than the Hilton New York, a sophisticated Manhattan hotel conveniently located in the midst of business and media centers, including Rockefeller Plaza. For some reason still unknown to us, we were given a complimentary upgrade to a [View Full Entry]

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8-night South America Cruise January, 2008 It was winter in the States, and a cruise in the southern hemisphere seemed inviting, so we chose an 8-night itinerary on Royal Caribbean International’s Splendour of the Seas. Skirting the eastern coast of South America, we visited Brazil, Argentina, and a tiny country tucked between those two massive neighbors, Uruguay. A 10-hour overnight flight on Continental, upgraded to Business Class, bought us to Sao Paulo, Brazil, at 11 o’clock the next morning, January 5, 2008. A representative of Royal Caribbean International met us a [View Full Entry]

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Catalina Island Birthday September 26 - October 4, 2007 Warm memories and cherished experiences describe our visit to the west coast to celebrate Bill’s 70th birthday with family and friends. Our trip began in Burbank with a visit with dear friend Martin, whom we met on our African safari. Many famous people live in Burbank, and Martin is acquainted with most of them, as his veterinary practice was located right in the heart of the entertainment industry in “beautiful downtown Burbank.” Much of Burbank's economy is based on the entertainment industry. While Hollywo [View Full Entry]

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In Search of the Big Five: June, 2007 This unbelievable trip began long before we touched down in Kilimanjaro Airport, Tanzania, on June 15, 2007. Getting ready for Africa was unlike anything else we have ever done in our travels because of the options available, the decisions that had to be made, and the preparations involved. First, since we wanted to see as many wild animals as possible, we chose Tanzania and Kenya as our destinations. Then there were the innumerable options of when to go, length, price, itinerary, quality of accommodations, amenities, etc. A 10-12 day safari can [View Full Entry]

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May 12, 2007 We arrived in Baltimore late evening and took a cab to our downtown hotel, the Sheraton City Centre. May 13, 2007 We spent the morning and part of the afternoon exploring Baltimore’s magnificent Inner Harbor, which was within walking distance of our hotel. Our first stop was the USS Constellation, the last all-sail warship built by the US Navy and the only naval vessel active during the Civil War still afloat. We toured all the decks, and Bill was asked to hoist the flag on the spar deck. Next was the incredible National Aquarium, an amazing collection [View Full Entry]

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