SAN JUAN – When the Eurodam cruise ship docked in San Juan, passenger Robert Miller was looking for a specific souvenir. Collecting distinctive 25-cent pieces for his grandson, Robert was hoping to find a quarter honoring El Yungue National Forest in San Juan. And he wanted to buy it in Puerto Rico. “I thought that would be a fun thing to do,” he said. “It would mean more to find one here than someplace else.” Issued in …
SAN JUAN– Palm trees sway in the warm Caribbean breeze. A youngster dashes down the beach, dipping her toes in the surf while her parents stroll hand in hand. The sound of Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas” floats through the balmy air. The tantalizing aroma of gingerbread scents the breeze drifting from the open door of a resort. It’s Christmas in Puerto Rico where the festivities linger long after the traditional Dec. 25th celebration. “In Puerto Rico, …
ABOARD THE EURODAM-The carpet on the floor of the Eurodam’s glass elevator gives a hint of how relaxing this cruise is going to be. The rug is imprinted with the current day of the week. “That’s so you’ll always know what day it is,” a fellow passenger behind me joked. “Cruises have a way of making you forget what day it is and even what month.” How right he is. When the Eurodam left Fort Lauderdale for …
Andrew Jackson loved his home so much that he chose to be buried there with his beloved wife Rachel. Some say that the man known as “Old Hickory” still keeps watch over his Tennessee plantation. On a shore excursion from the Grande Caribe,we visited the famed Nashville attraction and hear about the victories and tragedies of Jackson. The Hermitage is preserved today almost as it was during the days of the man who became an American icon. …
Breakfast is over on the Grande Caribe cruise ship. Picking up her Mac laptop computer from her cabin, Lillian Herzberg heads to the ship’s lounge where her husband Ernie sets up a card table. While the Cumberland River flows peacefully outside the lobby windows, Lillian starts working on her newest book – “Escape From Girona.” “I’ve got it all written,” the 85-year-old author said. “I’m just editing it now and then I will turn it in to …
WEST POINT, Miss. – When Melanie Snow was seven years old, her parents bought a deserted Southern mansion that might have sent other youngsters screaming in fright. But for Melanie and her family, it was love at first sight. “I think it was meant for Mom and Dad to have this house,” Snow said, standing on the porch of her beloved home. “Whoever took this house would either have to have a lot of money or a …
COLUMBUS, Miss. – Behind a glass frame on the wall of the Tennessee Williams Home is a treasure that was almost tossed in the trash. Faded with time, the laurel wreath once lay on the famed playwright’s body at his 1983 funeral. “It was saved and given to us by Tennessee Williams’ assistant,” a tour guide said. It seems only right that the funeral wreath is displayed in the home where Williams spent the first three years …
ABOARD THE WILDERNESS EXPLORER — My cabin has a new flat screen TV. The Wilderness Explorer has a big library of DVDs. But I never turned on that TV. No way could it compete with the glorious show that Mother Nature is playing outside the huge windows in my room. Gigantic humpback whales breach not far from my window. Cavorting and cartwheeling, they snort huge sprays of air and seawater as their bodies slap down on the …
Seems like the Blounts of Rhode Island had always been in the oyster business. The family oyster beds flourished. Workers were busy. Eager buyers lined up for the quality shellfish. Life was good. Then came the 1938 hurricane. By the time the winds quit roaring and the seas stopped churning, E.B. Blount & Sons Oyster Company was devastated. Studying at Wentworth College in Boston, son Luther Blount suddenly had no family business to return to. Instead, Luther …
When David Sylvaria graduated from high school, he decided to take a summer job and save money for college that fall. Asking around, the teen found a job at a local ship-building company near his home in Warren, R.I. Sixteen years later, he is still with that company. Only now, that young man is a fleet captain for the business – Blount Small Ship Adventures. “I never did go to college,” Capt. David said with a grin. …
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