Happy Birthday Brenda. Where have the last 12 years gone? #TBT

| August 12, 2021

Today is my wife’s birthday and I do my best to remember and marked the day on MyDesultoryBlog.com. This year I remembered one of my favorite photos of Brenda from one of our cruises (actually an ani gif … wait for it) – this one is west of Gibraltar back in 2009. Since it’s from […]

Norwegian Dawn gets hung up on a Bermuda reef

| May 20, 2015

I'm remembering the tight entries and snake like departures from Bermuda a few years ago … it was just a matter of time. In this photo provided by the Royal Gazette, the Norwegian cruise ship Norwegian Dawn, lies aground near Bermuda's North Channel Tuesday, May 19, 2015. The Norwegian cruise ship Norwegian Dawn, lies aground […]

Costa Concordia collides with rock off Italian island of Giglio

| January 15, 2012

As a family who enjoys traveling by cruise ship, the reports from Italy and the Costa Concordia are shocking after the ship ran aground on Friday. It is difficult for me in the day of GPS, sonar, autopilots, etc to understand how a ship of this size (4200 people) with an experienced captain and crew […]

Freedom of the Seas gets rocked by rough weather; damage to public areas | Cruise Radio

| October 10, 2011

It was a rough night for passengers on a big ship. The Norweign Cruise Line’s Freedom of the Seas was never in danger according to the company, but a passenger aboard Freedom told Cruiseradio.net a different side of the story:  “It was crazy. The ship was on it’s side, everything broke all over ship, medical […]

Archiving: Vacation artwork finally arrived

| November 15, 2010

The 2004 Jean-Claude Picot seriolithograph from our trip to Bermuda this past summer finally arrived (Trip archive: Post 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ). I’m saving an image of the painting so that at least I’ll have a record somewhere.   Our Saturday afternoon unboxing Since 1956, Jean Claude Picot has been working exclusively as […]

Day 2 & 3 sea passage and day 4: King’s Wharf Bermuda

| August 19, 2010

Day 2 of our family vacation was spent on a southeast leisurely passage at about 8 knots cruising toward Bermuda from New York City aboard the NCL Dawn. We enjoyed a sunny day at sea relaxing on one of the aft decks … a surprisingly private spot. Although the sun was tropical, the breeze over […]

Rogue waves kills 2 and injures 14 on a cruise ship in Med

| March 3, 2010

A large rogue wave, actually three “abnormal” waves, hit a Greek cruise ship with 1350 passengers and 580 crew in the Mediterranean north of Barcelona, Spain killing two passengers and injuring fourteen. The Louis Cruise Line ship, Louis Majesty, has 14 decks and is over two football fields long. It hit the three 26 foot […]

Finally … Vacation to Europe blog archive finished

| July 31, 2009

Whew! I’m finally up to date with our European vacation archive … and a bunch of photos didn’t make it into my14 days of blog posts. Oh well,  there are plenty to enjoy … except just this one loner photo and it will get its own post. It’s my daughter’s 23 year old “Big Bear” […]

Final night of vacation, but the time away felt about right

| July 25, 2009

Passing close enough to a container ship in the Atlantic to read containers The blog is missing a few days in posting due to a shortage of Internet minutes while on the cruise ship ($$$) and although there have been a few connections (very few public ‘free’) along the voyage, I’ve spent more time enjoying […]

Day 12: Lisbon and Sintra Portugal exceeded my expectations

| July 23, 2009

Lisboa or Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and the wealthiest of the country. It has remained the capital city since its conquest from the Moors in 1147. The architectural style is a combination of old and new, European and Middle Eastern … especially in historic areas and in the Sintra region – both a […]

Day 11: The Rock of Gibraltar

| July 22, 2009

We spent day eleven visiting the Rock of Gibraltar and I particularly liked learning about the history of this fortress. The huge fortified hunk of rock guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean has seen it share of conquest and struggle. Over the years, a series of 32 kilometers of tunnels […]

Another day – this one sailing west toward Gibraltar

| July 21, 2009

Today, we mark our return sail back toward the west steaming east in the Mediterranean on this near perfect day. The sky is blue, the water bluer and there is just enough breeze for a lone sailboat to make way well out in the clear horizon (digitally enlarged 300mm telephoto above). It’s now day 10 […]

Day 9: I’m going back – Rome can’t be appreciated in one day

| July 20, 2009

We debarked in Chivitavecchia, Italy on Monday and headed by bus to the ancient city of Rome (Roma) and a visit to the Vatican. The thoughts that I had prior to visiting Rome  were of  just another old and somewhat dirty city, but the impression I left with was one of awe … and a […]

Day 8: Livorno, Pisa and the Tuscany countryside

| July 19, 2009

What a wonderful day in Italy! We enjoyed a near perfect day in the Tuscany region of Italy heading from the port city of Livorno to Pisa in order to visit the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa, cathedral and baptistery. The crowds were relatively heavy, but flowed easily in and out of the key stops […]

Day two and three in the Atlantic

| July 14, 2009

We spent day two and now three of our vacation at sea and are enjoying the day’s relaxing … as well as eating (too much food). The weather was cooler on Monday, but much warmer today. The winds the first day out were near gale force as we traveled south from the English Channel through […]

Haleakala Crater Sunrise – animated GIF test

| September 1, 2006

Hopefully this weekend I’ll get part 2 of my vacation to Hawaii photos and comments posted. (click here to see Part 1) Nevertheless, here is a animated GIF series of photos of a sunrise on Maui atop the crater rim at Haleakala. The photo was taken early morning (duh!) at Haleakala Crater National Park as […]

Hawaii Trip Wrap up: Part 1

| August 29, 2006

I’ve been planning to write down some thoughts and include some personal photos from our recent family vacation to Hawaii. We enjoyed near perfect weather on our entire trip, both on a cruise ship, NCL(A)’s “Pride of Hawaii,” and the time spent with my nephew David and his wife Gillian who live on Kauai — […]

Flag flying over USS Arizona memorial

| August 21, 2006

Our final day in Hawaii has been a wonderful one. We enjoyed one last leisurely meal while on vacation at Stinger Ray’s listening to island music. (which is beginning to grow on me) The boarding time for our flight is still an hour away so figured one last photo of the flag over the USS […]

Pearl Harbor

| August 21, 2006

As we rest in the shade before riding the tender out to the Arizona memorial, we sit somewhat somber as the displays portray the terror unleashed by the Japanese bomber during a sleepy December Sunday 65 years ago. The harbor view is a quiet place this Monday morning … thankfully, but I can help but […]

Back in Honolulu

| August 21, 2006

Heading to the airport on the bus. We are hoping for enough extra time before flying back to the mainland so as to be able to drive to Pearl Harbor. Crossing our fingers we can fight this heavy, heavy traffic. Later.

Leaving Kauai

| August 20, 2006

Head out and circling Kauai back to Honalulu.

Last day to enjoy Kauai

| August 20, 2006

Looking out in the harbor this morning I’m realizing a vacation is coming to an end. We will be circling by helicopter today … Then off for Honolulu.

House of Rainbows

| August 20, 2006

Hanalei, Kauai with David and Gillian. The guys wait while the girls visit Gillian’s dress shop. I can’t wait to post a photo of jumping off the cliff and rope swing. Very exhilarating!

Leaving Kona for Kauai

| August 20, 2006

Our ship “The Pride of Hawaii” leaving Kona and the big island of Hawai’i behind as we sail for Kauai tonight. This will not get sent until the next Sprint service — we’ll see how that is on Jurassic Kauai. 🙂 I have some negative comments to come on the NCL management of the American […]

Haleakala – 10,023 feet on Maui

| August 19, 2006

We must be nuts … its early and cold! 🙂 Who in their right mind gets up at 2am to catch a van to the 10,023 foot extinct volcano just so they can see the sunrise above the clouds … and yet can still come away saying that it was well worth it. Yes … […]

At a cafe in Kona

| August 18, 2006

Kids are out on jetskis and we’re just enjoying a morning at a cafe in Kona, Hawai’i. Breezy and beautiful … wish you were here. 🙂

Sailing to Lanai from Maui

| August 18, 2006

Since I have my Treo ‘tethered’ to my notebook computer in Maui I’ll put a couple more photos up rather than using the cellphone camera. (Sprint EVDO service here) We sailed over to the smaller island of Lanai (from Maui) which was something I love to do. The trip over in the morning was under […]

Mt Mauna Kea at 13796 feet

| August 17, 2006

Two days, two different volcanic summits. The first was on the ‘big island’ of Hawai’i and rises from the seafloor some 33000 feet of which 13,796 feet as see from the geological marker. Its the first time I’ve climbed to that altitude and was amazed at how thin the air is hiking at that level. […]

Maui – arriving at 6am

| August 16, 2006

By the time you read this, you will realize we did not have Sprint EVDO service on Hilo, Hawai’i so yesterday’s quick messages were sent this morning at Maui. It is a beautiful morning sitting on the deck of the NCL ship ‘Pride of Hawaii’ eating breakfast. Last nights sail an view of the lava […]

Waikula River & Rainbow Falls

| August 16, 2006

Outside Hilo, Hawai’i we stopped for photos at the Rainbow Falls on our way up the 14796 foot Mt. Mauna Kea. We enjoyed hiking except the final distance from the observatories on top of the volcanic mountain. Beautiful and cold at the summit. (photos of observatories to come.)

The road to the top of the world

| August 16, 2006

As we continued our day trip up the 12 astronomical observatories on Mauna Kea on ‘the big island,’ we came across an alter used by some traditional Hawaiians in worship to their gods in this volcanic land. The views along this unbelievable climb from sea level to the Summit at 14796 feet were unusual. From

Honolulu Airport

| August 14, 2006

Beautiful day to arrive in Hawaii. Great flight for one that last 9.5 hours and changes 6 time zones! In the bus and checking out EVDO cellphone service. Hopefully the direct to blog is working?

Aloha … hopefully

| August 14, 2006

By the time you read this post, my family and I should be on our way to Hawaii. My daughter completed her undergrad schooling this past month (graduating summa cum laude — proud dad here), so as a graduation gift to all … we’re celebrating together. I’ll not be posting the regular daily ‘desultory posts,’ […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog