Jack's Travel Blog

ARUBA – 2023.

Aruba, advertises itself as “One Happy Island.” I visited Aruba Thursday, April 13, 2023.

Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south area of the Caribbean Sea, about 18 miles north of the Venezuela peninsula of Paraguaná.

I took a real submarine ride 140 feet below the surface and then walked into town. Much bigger town than Grand Turk’s. It’s a typical touristy port, selling gold watches and diamond bracelets!

Those are not low cost resorts. Locals come out on these barrier coral islands to spend the weekend, “roughing it.” I’m told some are quite elaborate with some amenities that can be seen from the Caribbean Sea side.

**This excursion is not wheelchair accessible. It was very challenging for some to climb down the ladder.**

Click to view the 18-Day Panama Canal Cruise blogs.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida / Port Everglades, – 2023.

Nieuw Amsterdam: Built: 2010 ◆ Refurbished: 2017 ◆ Maximum Capacity: 2106 passangers ◆ Decks: 12 ◆ Length: 936′ ◆ Draft: 26′ ◆ Beam: 106′ ◆ Speed: 22 Knots ◆ Inside Cabins: 156 ◆ Outside Cabins: 897 ◆ Crew: 929.

Uncle Jack’s room with a view for the next 18 days.

Uncle Jack in the Lido Bar on dek 9 enjoying a cocktail Ernest Hemingway has been credited with inventing. The Classic Daiquiri, shaken, not stirred. Jack discovered theLido Bar on the first all day at Sea. Th Lido Bar area has unique very heavy, bar stools with an indoor pool and removable roof.

Click to view the 18-Day Panama Canal Cruise blogs.

Grand Turk Island, B. W. I. – 2023.

Big name, small island. One of Grand Turks most charming qualities is its quaint accessibility. I explored the entire islands offerings in less than on April 11, 2023, in two hours on an Open-Air Tram. Others did it in thirty minutes, if they didn’t stop their 4-wheelers or a small electric Hummer to shop.

The Grand Turk island is 7 miles long, 600 miles SE of Florida.

It was Christopher Columbus first stops during his voyage to the New World in 1492. John Glenn splashed down off the coast of the island in 1962 when he became the first American to orbit earth.

The Grand Turk Island is the capital island of the Turks and Caicos archipelago, in the North Atlantic. It’s dotted with the remains of salt ponds from the island’s Sea Salt industry from the 17th to the 20th centuries.

There are no taxes levied on the Grand Trunk residents. The government is run on fees from all visitors.

Click to view the 18-Day Panama Canal Cruise blogs.

Vero Beach Disney Resort – 2023.

On April 07, 2023, I spent a day with my wife and son in the Disney Vero Beach Resort getting acclimated to Florida weather prior to getting on a ship destined to San Diego, California, trough the Panama Canal.

This elegant old-fashioned hideaway is located on Florida’s scenic Atlantic Treasure Coast on a barrier island near the charming community of Vero Beach.

Greenfield Village/Henry Ford Museum – 2016.

Parks near Colorado Springs – 2016.

Denver Parks.

A few Denver Parks – 2016.

Colorado Springs Parks.

Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus, San Francisco, 2017.

*I Left My Heart in San Francisco*, by Tony Bennett in 1962.

I don’t remember where this photo was taken.

Wine Region

Wine Region, California – 2017.

Nestled in the southern foothills of Sonoma, are the vineyards of Nicholson Ranch which are planted in one of the world’s most prized grape-growing regions. Nicholson Ranch enjoys a combination of soils, sloping hills and climate that is ideal for producing premium grapes.

We were invite to visit and taste their award winning wines. Nicholson Ranch Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs have won Double Golds and Best in Class awards in past years in the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition, the largest judging of American wines in the world.

We enjoyed these Estate wines while seated in a sun-drenched outdoor courtyard with 360 degree views of their vineyards and picturesque hillsides. We had the opportunity to sip over 90 of their wines. We toured their caves listening to the story of their farming and winemaking while savoring their best selection of wines.

Their grapes are grown naturally and sustainably. All their wines are made from grapes grown on their 40 acre Estate, fermented in small batches and aged for as long as three years in French oak barrels.