September 24-25, 2026

September 24-25, 2026

Yesterday we drove to the airport to catch our mid-morning flight to St. Louis via Denver. Both flights were on time, so we arrived at our airport hotel in time for their free Happy Hour with BBQ pork sliders. Aimee loves this perk of the Drury Inns.

This morning we checked out and walked next door to pick up our rental car. This nearby location saved us two shuttle rides. Unfortunately it took a while to get the car as Budget's computer was acting up.

We drove east across the Mississippi and north to Roxana, IL. Our first stop was the Wood River Refinery History Museum. Aimee groaned when I told her about it. During WWII, the development of 100 Octane gasoline, allowed the use of high-compression airplane engines. The enhanced performance gave a crucial speed edge to the British RAF allowing them to win the pivotal Battle of Britain. I was amused to learn the research for the necessary alkylation process occurred right here in Wood River, IL with the help of legendary General Jimmy Doolittle. Production started at this Shell refinery and in combination with new catalytic crackers was able to supply much of the high-octane fuel needed by the Allies for the war effort.

The museum has limited hours but the volunteer staff gladly agreed to open it for me and my brother today. Interestingly the museum was started by a relative. After watching a couple short films we were given a guided tour of the collection. I was surprised to learn that two enormous caverns were excavated under the refinery out of the limestone bedrock to store bulk butane and propane. Aimee thought the exhibits interesting but was even happier when she received a free museum mug.

After lunch with my brother at a diner around the corner, we checked into a local hotel in Alton, IL. Oddly we have the same room number (222) as last night. What are the odds? The reason we made this trip to the Midwest is so I could attend my 50th High School Reunion. I can’t believe that I am that old. Aimee and I went to a mixer this evening down the hill from my school. I hardly recognized most of them; even though I haven't changed a bit. We took a photo of the alums that I also went to grade school with (12 years total!) I left the event hoarse from talking too much.

August 17, 2026

August 17, 2026

We have a relaxing morning in our London Heathrow airport hotel. This is a travel day and our flight doesn't leave until early afternoon. Not unexpectedly we learn that our flight is delayed an hour. We check out and take the tube to our departure terminal and hang out. We have a delicious Avocado Falafel Pita sandwich at Pret a Manger (Ready to Eat in French). Since we are still in cruise mode, we have to buy a second one. The food was one of the highlights of the cruise. We somewhat preferred the cafeteria over the dining room because of the extraordinary selection of food available. We could have eaten Indian food every meal if we wanted.

Since we signed up for this eclipse cruise last minute, we economized by returning home in the cattle car section. It is full of young kids. It was fascinating watching my seatmates endlessly scrolling on their phones while watching a movie.

Economy class is a long fall in quality from business class. The epitome was being served my wine in a paper cup! The only saving grace is that we don’t need to sleep flying west. We just need to stay awake by watching movies. It makes for a very long day and I am dragging when we reach home near 11pm. We have been up for 24 hours.

Cruising is not my style. The port stops are just too short to really appreciate a city. Fortunately this cruise mostly stopped at small towns that only deserved a half day. Cruising can be inexpensive but the ship dangles internet, drink packages, fine dining, and excursions that quickly add up. But for families it can be efficient. Besides a pool, this ship had a kid-sitting service and endless activities like surfing, tubing and rock climbing. I bet there were a lot of families that never left the ship.

This also was the largest ship we have ever been on with some 4500 passengers. The three floors of main dining illustrates the sheer scale of the operation.

I was afraid that everything on the cruise would be terribly crowded, but it seemed most people had different interests than us. We usually only had to share our favorite sky lounge with only a few others. Aimee enjoyed this adventure enough that she is checking out cruises for the super eclipse next year. Surprisingly it is off the coast of Spain again.

August 16, 2026

August 16, 2026

This morning our cruise ship returned to Southampton, UK at sunrise. We are up early with the time change. Since we didn’t pack cowboy boots for Western night, a tux for formal night, black and white clothes for eclipse night, and tropical dress for Caribbean night, we are able to do self-disembarkation. It is still a long walk with multiple lines and ramps. But that is what we get trying to get off a ship that is almost a quarter mile long and fifteen stories high. Surprisingly the UK customs is non-existent. A Brit in front of me made the snarky comment that they let anyone in now, which is causing lots of political issues for them just like the US.

We made a strategic error for today. We booked a hotel at Heathrow for the night before we checked out transportation. Surprisingly there are no direct trains from Southampton to the airport. Instead we take their National Express bus. It seems half the ship is coming with us. We also booked the least convenient airport Hilton. We arrived in Terminal 2&3, and had to take the Tube to Terminal 4. The Hilton exaggerated a little when they said they were at the Terminal. They (along with several others) are actually off-site, but they have a very long covered ramp connector. The hotel though is very nice and they let us check in early.

After dropping our bags, we caught the Tube into London. It takes more than an hour. Our first stop is the Tate Britain. Originally called the National Gallery of British Art, it got a new name with donations from Henry Tate (of Tate&Lyle sugar fame). We start at the beginning with the 1500’s where we see portraits of ladies in unwearable Tudor costumes.

The Tate, like many museums, is a maze of unconnected rooms and we accidentally jump to the 1800’s. There is also a whole side wing devoted to William Turner and John Constable. Turner was a very successful landscape artist. I have never been a fan, but I always imagined his blurry landscapes just reflected the smoggy reality of Victorian Britain. Possibly it was, but this atmospheric style was a precursor and influencer of the later French Impressionists who adopted it and made it a universal movement. Constable in trying to match Turner’s success made his landscapes much larger. That worked for him too.

The room I liked the best was the Pre-Raphaelites, a British movement I never heard of before. Around 1848, revolution was rocking Europe. In Britain, the new factory working class was fighting for the right to vote. Artists followed their lead and rejected the Royal Academy leadership. I am not sure what they rejected exactly but they focused on painting pretty girls in dreamy situations. What is not to like about that! Apparently I am not the only fan as the entrance to the museum has a large monument to Everett Millais gracing it. He was the primary founder of this brotherhood.

Aimee was moaning her way through the museum, but suddenly got interested when she saw a painting with a woman in a blue dress. The accompanying description said the Industrial Revolution not only dramatically decreased the cost of clothing but allowed new vibrant colors. All of a sudden women dressed for fashion instead of utility. To my dismay, Clothes Shopping became something all women had to do.

To help us celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Independence, they have a room of related paintings. The collection included one of Ben Franklin, who spent time here in London trying to negotiate a peaceful resolution. He was run out of town just before our Declaration.

The Tate is having a special exhibition on James Whistler, the American who made it big in Europe. Or at least his Mother did. Unfortunately that ticket is very expensive and Aimee has had enough. Instead we Tube to Temple Bar, the location of the historic gate separating the cities of Westminster and London. There we have a late lunch at the Old Bank of England pub. We munch on Fish & Chips washed down with a pint of warm English Bitter. Afterwards we made the long journey back to our Heathrow Hotel.

August 15, 2026

August 15, 2026

We went to breakfast early this morning. We watched our ship enter the huge port of Le Havre, France at the mouth of the Seine River. We pass lots of oil storage tanks and several large container facilities. We moor next to Siemans Wind Turbine Manufacturing plant. In the yard below us we see lots of turbine blades. They are huge. Farther away we see the towers being loaded onto some kind of platform ship.

Many of our fellow passengers are lining up early for disembarkation. They are probably signed up for the ten-hour tours to faraway Paris. Others are making long journeys to see the D-Day landing sites of Normandy. This seems like a lot of effort and bus time, just to get a quick photo of these iconic sites. These locations deserve more.

Instead Aimee and I make the fifteen-minute walk into downtown Le Havre. Or at least it was supposed to be fifteen minutes. We didn’t count on the harbor bridge being opened to allow four sail boats to slowly pass. Even then the bridge didn’t close immediately until another pedestrian pushed an intercom button to get the French attendant off his coffee break.

When we reach the city front, we are confronted with a large colorful piece of artwork, made out of shipping containers. Very appropriate for France’s largest container port.

Being a strategic seaport, Le Havre (The Harbor in French) was virtually destroyed during WWII. Both the Germans and the Allied forces pummeled it. The city is now a World Heritage Site, because it was rebuilt by Auguste Perret in a consistent modernistic reinforced concrete design. As we walk down the main street of Rue de Paris, these functional apartment buildings lining both sides, look almost identical. This is so unlike most cities that have a mishmash of styles.

Our walk is slow going as Aimee is in shopping mode. She is a little flummoxed by most of the stores being closed for the month. They all have a sign saying essentially, Sorry, my vacation is more important than selling you something. No wonder Europe is falling behind more every year.

We peek inside the oldish looking Notre Dame church. Le Havre became the main port at the mouth of the Seine River after nearby Honfleur silted up in the 1500’s. In reading the storyboards about this church I was surprised to learn that this strategic port had been ravaged often, by the British in 1694 and 1759, and again during the French revolution, before being wiped off the map in WWII.

In the center of town, we pass the Oscar Niemeyer-designed volcano-shaped cultural center, a floating ice berg art piece and a war memorial. We try to tour one of Perret’s model apartments he designed for the city. Like La Coruna yesterday, we discover tours are sold out today. This is a big downside of cruise ships. They overwhelm small tourist venues.

We continue on to St Joseph Church. It is the symbol of the redevelopment of Le Havre. It’s tall Perret-designed lighthouse-like tower can be seen for miles. We arrive just as Mass is ending. While the exterior is drab, it has a very surprising interior. The barren concrete structure is heavily decorated with stained glass. And the tower is hollow and also lined with stained glass. Very cool!

Our walk continued down the western waterfront that is filled with personal watercraft. We walk out a jetty where we get a better look at two little forts guarding the old port entrance. At the jetty end is a statue called End of the World. That kind of reflects our long stroll out here.

We finished our tour of Le Havre with a required cafe stop facing the harbor. Aimee has a wine from southern France, while I have a local Normandy cider. In 1872 favorite son Claude Monet looked out his hotel window above us and painted this same view. That famous smoggy seascape "Impression, Sunrise" kicked off the Impressionist Movement.

We make it back to the ship for a late lunch. We spend the rest of the day on the ship relaxing and watching large freighters of all kinds leave the harbor.

August 14, 2026

August 14, 2026

Today is another sea day. During dinner last night we left the Spanish coast and began our passage north across the Bay of Biscay. When we awoke this morning, we were rounding the Brittany peninsula and approaching the English channel.

After breakfast, we read a while in our now personal seats in the sky lounge keeping an eye on the other passengers using the pool deck. For exercise we did the six-lap one-mile circuit and then lifted some weights in the gym.

When entering the cafeteria for lunch we are again greeted by a cute Asian girl dancing and singing some “Washie Washie” (your hands) tune. This is the cruise lines answer to ships being petri dishes for disease. How this girl can keep up this happy smiling vivacious act for hours is incredible.

At 2 pm we went to the main theater to watch the musical Saturday Night Fever. The set was very elaborate and the dancers incredibly talented. This is their only performance of this show. As big as this ship is, and as professional as they are, I can’t believe they are not doing this show more often.

After dinner, we went back to the theater for another performance. This time a British Rock and Roll band called The Boulevards. They were equally as talented but only scheduled for one other show tonight. I could easily have listened to them again. I am surprised we haven’t had more of this quality entertainment earlier in the cruise.

August 13, 2026

August 13, 2026 

We woke this morning in the port of La Coruna, Galatia in the northwest corner of Spain. Conveniently the port is right downtown. After breakfast we begin our walk north across this peninsular city. It is humid and overcast. The northern “green” coast of Spain is rainy and has a climate similar to Seattle. The apartments of La Coruna also have loads of glass enclosed balconies (Galerias). Our Santiago guide told us they do that to take advantage of the little bit of sunshine this region gets.

Humorously we walk past a large statue in the outdoor courtyard of a museum facing the bay. I can immediately tell from the pudgy torso that it has to be by the Columbian artist Botero. We learned about this painter/sculptor in Singapore just a few months ago.

We continue our walk to the north end where we see in the distance on a hill, the World Heritage Site of the Tower of Hercules. It is still a little bit of a walk to climb the hill and reach it. This is the only surviving and still functioning Roman lighthouse. It was extensively rebuilt in the modern era. I am shocked that the Romans would have had lighthouses let alone in this remote part of the empire. Once we reach the lighthouse we discover entry tickets are sold in the parking lot at the bottom of this hill. When we hike back down the hill, we learn that the next timed ticket is not until 1 pm. This is a major downside of cruising. We are competing with some 4500 other passengers for the same tourist sites. We are not waiting.

On the tower ramp, we are serenaded for the second time by two bagpipe players. Are we in Scotland? It turns out that the name Galicia has the same derivation as Gallic/Gaelic, one of the Celtic tribes that populated western Europe during the Iron Age 2500 years ago. Because the mountains of Galicia provided some isolation, this province has retained some of that Celtic heritage.

We walk back to the ship down the east side of the peninsula along a very nice promenade that is lined with retro Art Nouveau lamp posts. We find that each post is also decorated with a colorful porcelain seascape.

Near the ship we make a brief stop at Castelo de Santo Anton. This small stone fort sits on a tiny islet jutting into the harbor. A little further down the road, we pass two cannons facing our ship that memorialize the 200th anniversary of the 1809 Battle of La Coruna, when Napoleon was trying to conquer the Spanish Empire.

We finish our tour of La Coruna in Cidada Vella, the old town. We stop in the pretty square Praza de Maria Pita. On one side is the picturesque City Hall and on the other a statue of Maria Pita, the hero of the city. The Spanish Armada of 1588 left here for the failed attack of England. In revenge Queen Elizabeth I sent an armada here to attack the city. Maria Pita became enraged when she saw her husband wounded and used a spear to kill the English general.

Aimee and I find an outdoor cafe on the Praza to have a drink while soaking up the nice ambiance of La Coruna. Colorful cartoon characters (Prince Valiant & Asterix) grace the square advertising a Comic Book festival this week.

August 12, 2026

August 12, 2026

Aimee and I have apparently become Solar Eclipse Chasers. We serendipitously saw an annular eclipse on October 14, 2023, and then we purposely traveled two years ago, on April 8, 2024 to see our first Total Eclipse. Then last minute we signed up for this Eclipse Cruise. The path of totality runs from Iceland down the Atlantic and across Spain. In Spain it will be a sunset eclipse. At our location the totality will be at 8:27 pm, about an hour before it gets dark.

At 9 am we attended another ship presentation on the eclipse. Aimee and I are both hoping this is better than the Smithsonian lady “scientist” we listened to earlier. This one was by a NYC meteorologist. He was excellent. I even learned a few things, especially about the Saros cycle of eclipse shadows. Once back on deck, I see we are completely cloud covered. I hope this weatherman knows his stuff.

Today is mostly another sea day as our ship travels up the coast of Spain and out into the Atlantic Ocean. I always thought Spain dry and sunny. Apparently the Northwest of Spain is very rainy because of the mountains in Galicia. As the day progresses, and we get farther from the coast the skies clear. We spent much of the afternoon in the sky lounge watching the sun-starved play on the pool deck.

Since the eclipse will occur at sunset, it will mostly be visible on only one side of the ship. Not unexpectedly many cruisers are already staking out spots along the starboard side many hours in advance. We have a nice leisurely dinner and then find a spot an hour before the big event. While we watch the moon turn the sun into a crescent, we observe the shadows behind us. It is quite amazing how the shadows become blurry and pinholes turn crescent-shaped.

I took too many photos during our last eclipse. Since this one is less than two minutes long, I resist taking more than a couple photos. Wow! The visual of seeing the sun blotted out with our naked eyes is truly a sight to behold. We can easily see a huge solar prominence emanating from the left side of the sun. Aimee loves the diamond ring eclipse finish. This was the finest evening entertainment our ship could have provided.

August 11, 2026

August 11, 2026

From Gijon, Spain we sailed around the northwestern corner of Spain almost to the border of Portugal. During breakfast our ship navigated into the harbor of Vigo, the largest city in the province of Galicia.

Since we pretended to be pilgrims walking part of the Camino de Santiago yesterday, we thought we should complete the journey. So we signed up for a tour to the finish line. Our group left around 10:30 am after the port authorities cleared us for disembarkation. We traveled north crossing two of the long drowned-river estuaries that line the west coast. In these sheltered bays we see lots of seafood farms. From these Bateas, or floating wooden platforms, hang hundreds of ropes holding mussels. Galicia supplies the rest of Europe with its insatiable hunger for these mollusks.

Ninety minutes north of Vigo, we reach the World Heritage town of Santiago de Compostela. As we approach we see dozens of pilgrims on their final steps. They are following the seashell signage on the path. Plus many have a seashell hanging from their packs. In medieval times the seashell proved you had walked near the ocean. We follow these pilgrims to the Cathedral of Santiago. In the square, facing the Cathedral is the final seashell of the Camino. They are happy to have arrived.

There is a Mass going on inside the Cathedral so we cannot enter. Instead our guide shows us other parts of the small old city culminating with a nice view of the cathedral from a nearby park. On the return we pass a statue of King Alfonso II of Asturias who is considered the first pilgrim. Next to the Cathedral is a centuries old hostel and hospital for pilgrims that is now a luxury hotel. It also may be the oldest hotel in the world. Aimee and I find a nice little outdoor restaurant to have a bit of lunch until Mass ends.

After lunch we join a long line to enter the medieval Cathedral. Luckily it moves quickly. The only part of the interior that is noteworthy is the altar and it is stunning. It contains the tomb of Santiago (St James the Apostle). His body was supposedly found here around 820 AD. The Christian pilgrims who journeyed (and often stayed) here were a major factor in the successful Reconquista or retaking of Spanish lands from the Muslim invaders.

There are long lines to enter the crypt and museum and we are time constrained. We have to be back at our ship by 6:30 pm or the ship sails without us. Instead we circle the Cathedral to check out the front facade. Unfortunately I learn the famed Romanesque "Portico of Glory" entrance was covered up centuries ago by a Baroque exterior. It now requires a time ticket to see. I am happy we saw a replica up close at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

We get back to the ship at 4:30 pm. I convince Aimee to do a quick tour of the nearby harbor area. Vigo looks beautiful. While it may not have many tourist attractions, it looks like a nice place to live.

On our little walking tour we find a monument to Jules Verne. He has a statue (atop a dreaded sea monster) because Vigo was mentioned in one chapter of his book 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. In that chapter Captain Nemo recovers some treasure lost in a Spanish galleon sunk during the 1702 Battle of Vigo Bay. We also see a large art installation of a boy swimming in the concrete. We finish walking through the hilly old town and back to the ship through a small shopping mall.