Blogs from Ajax, Ontario, Canada, North America

Our JAL 777 has WiFi and we just flew over Ajax, which is near Toronto. Never heard of it. Assuming JFK is OK and the traffic is not bad, yeah, right, Fran and I should be at our apartment in a couple of hours. Our day was long but relatively uneventful. I enjoyed writing this travel blog. Next bloggable trip, ????????? David... read more

New life is being breathed into Old Man River. As the finishing touches are being put on two ships for the Mississippi River’s big cruising comeback this year, the ships’ owners report that bookings are ahead of projections and that the outlook for the rebirth of Mississippi cruising is very positive. Memphis-based Great American Steamboat Co. will relaunch the 436-passenger American Queen in April, and Guilford, Conn.-based American Cruise Lines (ACL) is building a 150-passenger paddlewheeler, the Queen of the Mississippi, which is expected to set sail in August. Together, the vessels will essentially bring back to life a Mississippi River cruise market that has been dormant since Majestic America Line ceased operations under Ambassadors International at the end of 2008. Since opening its reservations call center on Sept. 30, the Great American Steamboat Co. is ... read more

Hey, if you can have WestJetters why not Virgins. Typically swimming against the tide, or flying against the wind, or whatever - as statistics show UK unemployment on the rise - Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic has announced a recruitment drive for 500 cabin crew. The Office of National Statistics released new figures which saw unemployment rise by 48,000 in the last three months of 2011. Virgin however, says it is expanding its network and fleet, and is advertising jobs throughout the year on www.virginatlantic.com The jobs will be based out of London Heathrow and Gatwick and new recruits will be heading for Virgin Atlantic's new routes - Cancun and Vancouver - along with other destinations on the airline's long-haul network including New York, Barbados, Las Vegas and Shanghai. Corneel Koster, director of ... read more

Five-Star Menus, Wine Tastings, Exclusive Touring, Michelin Dining & Impeccable Service Are Par for the Course French Country Waterways is kicking off their 28th year in luxury barge cruising with the launch of an impressive selection of elegant vacation experiences aboard its own fleet of luxury canal barges. Detailed in a new 2012 brochure is the return of eight-passenger Princess to the Upper Loire Valley – nicknamed the “Garden of France” for its idyllic landscape and pleasant climate, as well as the two routes taken by the 12-passenger Adrienne -- splitting her season between the celebrated region of Champagne and the enchanting Alsace-Lorraine route, which traverses a landscape of half-timbered houses, cobblestone streets, rolling meadows and lush forests. The six-night cruises are also offered in Central Burgundy aboard the eight-guest Horizon II, and along Canal de ... read more

The following was written by Ben Stein (2005) and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary. My confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish.�� And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key ... read more