Geo: 32.3501, -90.8815A beautiful day, but a bracing -2 deg C when we started out. Very unusual for the South, where mild winters are the norm.Really interesting battlefield tour today, recounting the 47-day Siege of Vicksburg. The Confederate defeats here and at Gettysburg, both in early July 1863, are considered pivotal events in the course of the Civil War. With the fall of the heavily fortified and defended Vicksburg, the Union gained control of the Mississippi River and denied the South this critical supply route.... read more

Geo: 30.7608, -91.3954The American Queen's journey is shadowed by four AQ-branded tour coaches. These do hop-on, hop-off shuttle duties at the various stops. 'Docking' is where we tie up at a wharf. 'Landing' is where we pull into the bank and launch the gang plank.After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the US was keen to encourage settlers to the new (ex-French) lands west of the Mississippi. In the next few decades paddle steamers reigned supreme for the carriage of goods and passengers up and down the river. The first railway crossing of the Mississippi was in the early 1850's, and railways slowly gained ascendancy as the preferred means of transport. Today the river is deep enough to carry ocean going ships and tankers as far upstream as Baton Rouge (mile 229). The Upper Mississippi starts at ... read more

Geo: 29.9497, -90.077Frequent showers kept us mostly on the coach for a drive-around city tour today. We listened to more jazz and I'm thinking I prefer strings to brass instruments.We boarded the American Queen around 3pm. After unpacking (the generous cabin storage allowed a complete emptying of our luggage) we explored the boat and had a boat drill.Hopefully the below link will give you an overview of the boat...www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQWK6sir8EE... read more

Geo: 33.9767, -118.459... read more

Geo: 33.7054, -118.294Dropped Erin off at work then headed south along the coast to sight-see. Checked out the port at Long Beach then drove down to Newport Beach. Couple of shopping stops then picked up Erin and went to the La Playita Mexican restaurant at Hermosa Beach for dinner.... read more