Author: mongreldogs
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The Mongrel Dogs at Sea (12): From Arizona to Missouri
Seven days ago I had the opportunity to relive the American experience in the Second World War in one morning. In reverse. As part of the Regal Princess‘ stop at the port of Honolulu, I took part in a tour of the memorials to the USS Arizona and USS Missouri. In case your command of…
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“After the Fire” — Roger Daltrey
After the fire, the fire still burns The heart grows older but never ever learns The memories smoulder and the soul always yearns But after the fire, the fire still burns
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The Mongrel Dogs at Sea (11): Solar Sight
I experienced something today that I’ve heard a lot about but never quite believed in: the infamous green flash. I’d read that, sometimes, during sunsets, just at the moment the Sun sinks below the horizon, it flashes green. However, the conditions are hard to meet and the occurrence somewhat rare. Tonight as the Regal Princess…
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The Mongrel Dogs at Sea (10): Managed Disequilibrium
Every night, the crew of the Regal Princess find some live entertainment to put on in the grandiosely-named International Show Lounge. Sometimes it’s in-house, like a crew sing-along. Usually, it’s more like a Vegas revue: Sometimes piano, sometimes comedy, sometimes live performance, sometimes old Broadway standards. For the most part, I’ve avoided this like a…
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The Mongrel Dogs at Sea (7): Maui
Today was the final port of call in Hawai’i, at the port of Lahaina. It was another transfer-by-tender affair. The seas proved a bit rougher this time compared to Kona; I got bumped around a bit. Nothing serious but a little unnerving. Lahaina is a cute little tourist trap. I went on the Atlantis 4…
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The Mongrel Dogs at Sea (6): Security Silliness
I was going to write today about my visit to the USS Arizona and USS Missouri memorials and how moving it was. I suppose I’ll get to that, though maybe not today. Right now I’m going to blog about one of the deepening madnesses of the 21st century, the traveler security checkpoint. Let me say…
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The Mongrel Dogs at Sea (5): Footloose on Kauai
We made our third landfall today, on the island of Kauai. For various reasons I had not signed up for any of the escorted excursions, so the day was pretty much my own. I stayed on ship until a little after noon. For the first time this trip I was unimpressed with the Princess Cruise…
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The Mongrel Dogs at Sea (4): Review: Next
Insta Rating: 4 out of 5 OK, it’s a little odd to be reviewing a movie when I’m supposed to be off on a wonderful cruise. But as mentioned before I was pretty wiped out, so I decided to take advantage of the onboard movie theater and catch Next starring Nicholas Cage and Jessica Biel.…
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The Mongrel Dogs at Sea (3): Kona
Today we stopped at Kona, which is also on the Big Island. Although I got just as little impression of this town as I did of Hilo, I think I prefer it. It seemed smaller and more relaxed. Although, the hilly terrain would probably spell the death of me. The Kona Highlights tour lived up…
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The Mongrel Dogs at Sea (2): Island Burning
Today I stood on the roof of Hawai’i. Tonight I watched an island burn. The first was my scheduled tour of Mauna Kea and the observatories perched at 13,500 feet above sea level and, more importantly, above the cloud layer. According to our guide, a “Pacific inversion” ensures that clouds all form below 11,000 feet…