Random thoughts from the sea
Days 12-15, 2026 Alaska Explorer Thursday to Saturday, Sept. 3-6, 2026; Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. The theme of this Alaska cruise is turning out to be friendship. I just wrote about meeting two new friends in Juneau. Earlier we were disappointed to miss seeing friends in Anchorage
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Days 10-11, 2026 Alaska Explorer Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 1-2, 2026; Juneau and Ketchikan, Alaska. As I have spent the past four years living on ships, it is no surprise than many of my friends are those who sail with me. Most of the people I visited this summer are
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Days 4-7, 2026 Alaska Explorer Wednesday to Saturday, Aug. 26-29 2026; Kodiak, Anchorage and Valdez, Alaska. I first visited Alaska on a business trip. When our employees in Anchorage learned I was from Texas, they delighted in bragging about how much bigger Alaska is than Texas. In fact, I learned
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Day 3, 2026 Alaska Explorer Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026; At Sea in the North Pacific Ocean. Back in June when I booked this 14-day Alaska cruise, I knew cooler temperatures would be a nice break from August in the Midwest. I didn’t realize then how excited I would be to
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Between Cruises Monday, Aug. 17, 2026; Nashville and Fort Smith, Ark. I have known for years that there is a Jo Johnston Ave. in Nashville. More than a decade ago friend and former boss Mona sent me a photo of the street sign. But all I’ve ever done is drive
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Between Cruises Friday, July 3, 2026; Chicago. When I last posted in mid-May, I wrote: “I’m spending the next four months on land. I’ll spend July and August in Chicago (Logan Square area), attending an Urban Sketching symposium and catching up with friends from my summers there in 2017-2019. Fortunately
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Days 128-132, 2026 Grand World Voyage Monday to Friday, May 11-15, 2026; Panama Canal and Cartagena, Colombia. Just as we seem to be racing across the Caribbean at 18 knots toward Fort Lauderdale, the time is racing by as we come to the end of this 133-day cruise (plus the
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Days 123-126, 2026 Grand World Voyage Wednesday to Saturday, May 6-9, 2026; Manzanillo and Puerto Chiapas, Mexico, and Acajutla, El Salvador. Tiny El Salvador isn’t even a blip when it comes to cruise visitors in Central America. El Salvador accounted for just 0.1 percent of total cruise ship arrivals in
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Days 116-120, 2026 Grand World Voyage Wednesday to Sunday, April 29-May 3, 2026; Seattle, San Diego and at Sea. While the days of truly grand special events during a Holland America world cruise are in the past (think a private evening at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam or at the foot
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Days 111-114, 2026 Grand World Voyage Friday to Monday, April 24-27, 2026; Kodiak, Sitka and Ketchikan, Alaska. Alaska is a special place to cruise. Majestic mountains with snow-covered caps, dense evergreen forests, dozens of rocky islands and if you’re lucky, plenty of sea life, wildlife and even bald eagles. It
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