We Make It To Broadway

by | May 2, 2026 | Uncategorized

Editor's Note: This will not be my best post ever due to some really ugly tech support problems that took more than an hour to fix. I want to get it online before we head out to breakfast. I promise to do better.

Micheal directing us to our "luxury motor coach"

This is going to be tough. Or as I told Kathleen last night, “I need a sea day.” We’ve had only one full day, and I’m exhausted. I don’t have a lot of time to write and process photos to get this out to all of you. I would give you the entire schedule for yesterday, but that’s for the next post. This one is just to tell you the story of getting there: our bus pickup, our flight, our “luxury motor coach” into Manhattan, and an amazing dinner at Tony’s DiNapoli with some great friends.

Thursday morning at 4:30 am, we gave Keeley her final kisses and pets (she is staying at home with Kathleen’s daughter Michelle), and we set off for Trilogy’s clubhouse, where we would be met by two 14-passenger Sprinter vans I had arranged. They would whisk 21 of us off to SeaTac International Airport. (A quick note for regular readers: I know I promised Kathleen that after arranging all those buses in Scotland pre-pandemic, I would never do that again… but these were vans, not buses ??).

To get this all to work out, we had to find a way to get to the Clubhouse (about half a mile away for us, but 3-4 miles for others—Trilogy is a big place) and not leave our car in Trilogy’s woefully inadequate parking lot for an entire week. Some people actually had friends who liked them enough to get up out of bed and drive them there at that ungodly hour. Others were going to leave our car in the lot, and friends would pick it up later in the day. We had planned to do this, but our friends who were going to do our pick up got called away, and we got really lucky when a friend who is on the trip with us and lives just five houses away from the clubhouse let us park our car in her garage. Her son had her car, so there was room in her immaculate and well-organized garage for our car. We can’t thank her enough.

I had told everyone the vans would be there at 4:30 and that we would leave without them at 4:50. So I dropped Kathleen off at the clubhouse, where we found a BUNCH of people already there before 4:30, loading the vans. We got our luggage into the van, and I drove the short distance to where we would leave the car, then walked back to check off everyone on my van list and make sure we had everyone who had signed up to go with us. The only problem was that when I got back, one of the vans I had left for the airport was gone, and I had no idea who was in it. At this point, it’s only 4:40, and our driver wanted to leave, but I didn’t want to leave anyone behind since I had said we would wait until 4:50. But he told me that the other van had 10 people and we had 11, so I told him to go ahead, hoping and praying that we were not leaving anyone. Thankfully, everyone had been right on time (or early), and we all got there, WHEW!

The airport was far better than we expected. Kathleen and I hadn’t flown since we went to Africa last July (we drove to our October cruise), and SeaTac had made outstanding improvements to its security lines. We were through and on our way to the Alaska Air FC lounge in no time, where we hung out until we were called (right on time) to board. The flight was smooth, and since we had left early, we arrived at JFK in NYC half an hour early. Of course, that meant there was still a plane at our gate, so we sat on the tarmac for 30 minutes. I wish they would figure this out. Why get us there early just to sit on the plane and wait? Eventually, we got off the plane and headed to baggage claim. Alaska Air had done a great job with all our luggage, and I am pretty sure not a single person in our group lost a suitcase.

JFK is a BIG airport, but when we had our bags, Mike (one of our superb guides from Break-Away tours) was waiting to meet us. He got us out and onto our “luxury motor coach,” and we were off into the city. With the traffic, it took us a little more than an hour to get to our Manhattan hotel, but another one of our excellent guides, Hardy, kept us entertained with outstanding information about our drive and NYC in general. Even though Kathleen and I have been here numerous times before, I learned a lot. He would be our main guide for the week, and we are still (after two days) thrilled to have him.

We are staying at the Westin Times Square. It’s a very nice hotel, just about a block from Times Square. But Break-Away uses it because we can walk just about anywhere. Once we arrived and got settled in, we all met in the lobby to walk to a wonderful Italian restaurant, We walked right through Times Square to get there and Tony’s Di Napoli. This place is an institution and has been around since the fifties (just like us ?). They serve you a LOT OF ITALIAN FOOD, and they serve it family style. They bring it to your table on huge platters, and you pass it around. It was just like grandma used to make. Not gourmet, but delicious. Top that off with a nice Chianti and cannoli for dessert, and it was a perfect way to start the trip.

I only had two tiny quibbles about Tony’s. We were seated in a basement dining room, and the lighting for taking photos was terrible, as you will see in my photos. Thankfully, there are only a few of them. I know I could have taken them with my phone and gotten slightly better results, but I wanted the actual feel of the room. The other thing that was a pain was the noise. This may have been the nosiest restaurant I have ever been in. It was a legacy building, and all the walls, ceilings, and floors were hard materials, which meant that with our party and about 50 other people down there, it was LOUD! You pretty much had to yell to be heard by the person sitting next to you, which only made the room EVEN LOUDER! But it was a delicious dinner, and no one left hungry for want of great food. It is almost sad how much we left on the serving platters. After dinner was over (around 10:30 NYC time), we took a short three-block walk back to the Westin and fell fast asleep.

Here are my photos of our the dinner at Tony's. As you can see, it was kinda dark down there. Don't forget, you can click them to enlarge them.

For our first time traveling with 41 people (we only had 21 in the vans—the rest had flown in early or arranged their own transportation to the airport), things were going very smoothly. More tomorrow about our first full day, which about killed us (in a good way). I should also mention that even though we regularly travel with two or four other people, traveling with 41 is really interesting in one big way. We know these folks from living in the same community, and we are all members of the Travel Club. But that doesn’t mean I know every name (because I am president and have a big mouth, they all know me ?). When we first moved into Trilogy, a neighbor who had known us before told us she had been on a Travel Club trip, and no one remembered her name to say good morning or good evening, or anything to her. I kind of vowed that this trip would not be that way for anyone. So I put together a PDF of photos of the entire group with names so I could remember who was who. Two days in, I am doing pretty well, and thankfully, Break-Away had some really great name tags for us, which really helps as well.

That's it for day 1. Yesterday was our first full day, and I hope I get a chance to write it up tomorrow. I certainly took lots more photos as we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, had dinner at Sardi's and saw an amazing Broadway show—Operation Mincemeat. See you then.

There's nothing that can match Broadway for stature and dignity.   —Sammy Davis, Jr.

 

Cold and clammy Kalama

by | Oct 13, 2025 | Uncategorized

Our first stop on this seven-night cruise is the Washington port of Kalama, billed as the “gateway to Mt. St. Helens.” 98% of the people on board were scheduled to take an afternoon trip by “luxury motor coach” to see St. Helens’ crater and stop by the visitor center. When Kathleen and I saw the weather (having visited Mt. St. Helens numerous times before), we decided to stay on board, and I could finish yesterday’s post. The other four members of our group decided to go ahead and go, as they had never seen the mountain before.

Unfortunately, the weather was not ideal. In fact, for most of the morning, it had been pouring. When they headed out just after lunch, they had high hopes that the clouds would be below them at the summit, but instead, they found themselves in the clouds rather than above them. As my brother Steve said (in a text from the “luxury motor coach”), “We got a nice bus ride.”

But later in the afternoon, while the buses were up in the clouds, the sky cleared for a little bit here in the port city of Kalama, so I got a chance to get off the ship and walk to the new Marketplace building, the port’s Interpretive Center and all the way into town without getting very wet from the passing showers.

This means I took some great photos (at least I think they are), especially one that showcases a very unique feature of our ship. When we sailed up to the Kalama dock, for some reason, we did not stop there. Instead, the captain went a ways down the bank and shoved the nose of the ship directly into the side of the river bank. Then, the front of the bow lifts up, and that’s how we got off and on the ship yesterday. I know it sounds strange, but here’s what it looks like in a photo I took after exiting the ship myself.

After exiting out of Harmony’s bow and getting up to the bank, there was a very nice walkway that took me all the way down to the entrance to the Mountain Timber Market. Think of this as a kind of mini-mall full of cool little shops and other attractions to entice travelers like me to spend some cash. I took a few pictures of this part of the walk that I can share.

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If you are ever driving south on I-5 and need a break, this would not be a bad place to stop. Really, a super building with lots of great shops, not to mention that totem pole.

After visiting the Market and listening to the great music, I headed further towards downtown. I shot a few more photos of the very nice park-like riverbank. There was an outdoor totem pole, a very nice hotel, and, of course, the river itself.

From the hotel, you can stroll past the marina, climb up three rickety, swayin’ metal stairs, cross a bridge over the railroad tracks, then come down even more rickety stairs to reach downtown Kalama. The town—more of a highway-side village—was mighty quiet on a Sunday afternoon. I was looking for a birthday card to send to a close friend, and honestly, the only option available was the local supermarket, which, it turned out, had a surprisingly fine selection of birthday cards. As I mentioned, downtown is really charming and quaint, so I’ve included some photos to give you a sense of the place.

After finding that birthday card, a funny magnet to act as a gift and some cool Christmas ornaments, it was back to the ship for me. On the way, what else? A few more photos to share.

One mystery I would like solved is that the last photo in that group was taken from a very nice pier that would have fit our ship perfectly. We know that because we drove by this pier on Monday on our way to Portland, and one of Harmony’s sister ships was attached to that pier. It would have made it a lot easier for all of us to access that Marketplace as well as the port’s Interpretive Center. No ships were docked there all day, so I have no clue why we didn’t use it.

That about covers Kalama. We had a great day with some very nice food and drink, which I will cover in another post.

There’s nothing greener than Washington state. They have the most beautiful vegetation on the planet. And the water is so clean.   —Fabio Lanzoni

 

Expectations Exceeded!

by | Oct 12, 2025 | Uncategorized

We have never sailed on American Cruise Lines (ACL) before. When speaking with people who have experienced it or reading reviews online, the results are typically mixed. Some love it, others not so much. One member of our Trilogy Travel Club really dislikes them, while another has taken three cruises with them and loved two of them and is going again. So, expectations were not high, but I came into this with an open mind.

As I write this, we are moored in Kalama, Washington, where 99% of the passengers will disembark to see Mt. St. Helens. Kathleen and I have decided to skip the three- to four-hour ride on the “luxury motor coach” and stay on board. We have been to the Mount St. Helens visitor center several times, and the weather is VERY rainy and cloudy (typical Pacific Northwest weather), so photos would look pretty dull. This led us to stay on the ship.

By the way, since I have been on board for almost a full day, I have decided this is a ship. It’s much too big to be a boat. We are on board the American Harmony. That’s her photo above that I stole from their website because I don’t feel like getting off and getting too soaked to take one myself. Hope that’s OK. I promise to get one myself later on the cruise, maybe when the weather improves in Eastern Washington.

Now, back to the trip. When you sail with ACL, you get an extra night at the hotel included before your cruise. At the hotel, everyone was informed of the departure time on Saturday morning and that their luggage should be ready to go by 7:00 am. Strangely enough, we were told to leave our luggage in the room, and they would come to pick it up—not outside in the hallway like on other cruises we’ve been on. There were then two options for departure. Some of the people taking the cruise would do a free pre-boarding excursion to Multnomah Falls. Since the six of us had visited the falls earlier in the week, we left the hotel at 11:00 am. We’re very glad we did because the ship carried more than 135 people; when we visited earlier, there was hardly anyone there. My photos from that day clearly show how great we had it. I think that other than the six of us, there were fewer than 20 people there.

Since most people were taking the falls tour, when it was time for the rest of us to head to the ship, there were only six of us and one other couple left. So, we got a really nice Mercedes Sprinter van for our 45-minute drive to where the ship was moored in Stevenson, Washington. We had originally been told we would board much further downriver, in the northern part of Vancouver, Washington, but the river levels at the edges were low, which meant we had to go further upriver, where dams controlled the water levels.

Once we arrived at the dock, it was a quick (but wet) walk to the gangplank, and we were on board. Since they had picked up our luggage at 7:00 am, it was already in our room (which was nice), so we could unpack and head to lunch. Here’s a quick look at our stateroom. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through using your arrow keys or by swiping. Feel free to look at them on your phone. These aren’t meant to be art, just informational photos.

One of the benefits of being on Deck 4 is that both the River Lounge at the front of the ship and the Sky Lounge at the back of the ship are on our floor. The River Lounge is where performances, lectures, and other fun activities take place. Last night, our entertainment was a very funny guy named Kevin Neil. His performance was called “Cowboys and Curmudgeons” and, as I said, was hilarious in a dad-joke kind of way.

Here’s a merged panoramic photo of the River Lounge. Unlike the ship photo at the top of the page, you can click on the panoramas, and they will enlarge to fill your screen, allowing you to see the details if you want.

The Sky Lounge is a really nice space that combines a mini buffet, living room, game room, and snack bar all in one. It offers chairs, couches, and snacks available around the clock, along with complimentary drinks, including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. I am currently sitting on a very comfortable couch, enjoying a large glass of lemonade while writing this post. Here’s another panoramic shot of the Sky Lounge. On the far right in the back, you can see a bar that serves drinks throughout the day and evening, and it also serves as an alternative breakfast spot if you prefer to skip the dining room for that meal. We dined there this morning, and I had some really good lox and bagels with all the toppings, plus an excellent blueberry scone. By the way, the coffee on this ship is excellent, which is saying a lot because I am very picky about my coffee ?.

Behind the Sky Lounge is an open deck area with a few places to hang out when it’s not raining, as well as an alternative food option if you are not feeling like what’s being served in the dining room for breakfast or lunch that day. It does burgers, hot dogs, wraps for lunch and oatmeal or a breakfast sandwich in the morning. There is also a large deck for outdoor seating when the weather is better. Much of it is covered, but so far it has been empty due to the cold. Here’s a shot of the Sun Deck and the Back Porch Cafe.

That’s about it for Deck 4. Deck five above us only has staterooms and a little-used sun deck. But it is a great place to go and take photos when it’s not raining. For instance, I took this merged panoramic from up there as we headed west. It’s the “Bridge of the Gods.” We had seen it near Hood River last Wednesday when we drove out this way.

Deck three consists solely of staterooms and the pilot house/bridge, although decks 2, 3, and 4 feature a special alcove that we will discuss in a minute. On deck two aft is the gym. It’s a somewhat unusual gym/exercise area because, while one side features a variety of workout equipment, the other is equipped with tables and chairs that can be used for playing cards or enjoying drinks. Not sure I want to do that while I smell the sweaty folks working out, but you do your thing, I’ll do mine ?. Here’s a pano of that interesting room.

Deck two also has the laundry. Essentially, this consists of three stacked washers below three dryers in a small room, roughly the size of our closet at home. It is nice to be able to do some laundry, especially when we have already been on the road for six days and are trying to limit our luggage so it fits in the fan. It has been really busy until this afternoon. Strangely enough, the washer/dryer units are exactly the same ones Viking Ocean ships have. And since there is one laundry room on every deck on Viking Ocean ships with 950 guests and just one room on this ship with fewer than 200 guests, it’s really not that bad.

Another thing I really appreciate about this ship is the elevator that stops at every floor. Not for me, since I usually take the stairs on a cruise, but for Kathleen, who has knee and hip issues. I also like that around the elevator on decks 2, 3, and 4, there is a small, cozy room with couches, chairs, and tables. These are great spots to play games (with many options available), assemble a jigsaw puzzle (many are provided), or simply read a book (they have a small library). Here are pictures of each one.

I think that about does it for today. I just wanted to give you an idea of what the ship looks like. YIKES! I just realized I don’t have a shot of the dining room. A room that truly exceeded our expectations. It’s big, there is a very large amount of space between tables, and our waiter (and others) only have two tables to deal with each, so the service is amazing. More about that and the food tomorrow. Here’s a photo I took with my iPhone from just before lunch yesterday.

To sum up and conclude the headline…so far, American Cruise Line is far exceeding what I thought I would get. Except for a few small glitches (to be detailed later), I am totally impressed.

Exceeding expectations is where satisfaction ends and loyalty begins.  —Ron Kaufman

Incredible Meals Bookend Boring Day

by | Oct 10, 2025 | Uncategorized

What can I say about yesterday? We had an amazing breakfast, followed by a very long drive to a creamery to witness cheese being made, then a short drive to see a large rock, followed by a long drive to get back and finally an incredible dinner.

That was it. I feel like I let my fellow October Gang buddies down with a rather long and boring trip to the Oregon Coast. We have always loved the Oregon Coast, but other than a tour of the Tillamook Creamery, it was pretty much a snooze. I think our memories of Cannon Beach were too old. We remember being able to walk out on the beach much more easily. And we remember that we used to like shopping. Now it does nothing for us. Twenty-five years ago, when we first visited, we spent hours in all the shops. Now we couldn’t care less. We are done collecting items from places we have already visited.

On the other hand, this trip is rapidly morphing into a five-day food tour. Kathleen’s daughter, Michelle, and her husband, Brian, visit Portland on a regular basis, and they have recommended several places to eat. Yesterday morning, we tried one of their breakfast options, and I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve never had a breakfast I liked more. The food and service were amazing. The place is called Petite Provence. How good was it? We are going back again in about 30 minutes from when I am writing this. Here are some pics.

After breakfast, we headed to the coast. Our first stop, after a 90-minute drive, was the Tillamook Creamery. If you’re in the USA, you’ve probably heard of Tillamook cheese and ice cream. This is where they make it. If you’re on the Oregon Coast, I highly recommend a quick visit. It’s a self-guided tour that offers a view over the cheesemaking and packaging process. Then, enjoy a sample of cheese and, of course, some of their famous ice cream. Here are a few photos from that experience.

After our cheese adventure, we headed north to Cannon Beach… or so we hoped. None of our cell phones had coverage (thanks, T-Mobile), and there were no signs indicating Cannon Beach ahead. I stopped for gas and asked a man, who said it’s about 15 miles up the road. We finally arrived, and the place was crowded. You can no longer easily get out to the beach to see Haystack Rock. The guys went out to take a photo while the ladies stayed behind. The stairs were too steep. There are numerous shops selling things we don’t need, and everyone just wanted to return to the hotel. So off we went. I should mention that neither the road we took to Tillamook nor the road we returned on to Portland had many restrooms. It made for a lousy trip back to the hotel.

We had a 7:00 pm reservation at Andina, a Peruvian restaurant downtown. This was the place we canceled after the food tour on Tuesday because we were so full, and moved it to last night. 

Speaking of downtown, as the driver, I find it funny that everyone keeps asking if I am okay driving back downtown or if we should eat somewhere near the hotel. I keep telling them that the only places to eat near the hotel are the hotel itself or the airport. Of course, I don’t mind driving downtown for the kind of food I get there.

Andina was incredible. Just when I thought the food here in Portland couldn’t improve, we had two utterly fantastic appetizers. One was a scallop ceviche, and the other was a barbecued rib. We shared them, but honestly, I could go back tonight, order just those two appetizers, and that would be it. I also had an amazing entrée. They called it “lomo saltado,” and it was like a hybrid of stir-fry and poutine. It featured beef and onions stir-fried in a savory sauce and then poured over French fries. Strangely enough, they served it with garlic rice. Not sure why two starches were included, but they were both delicious. Overall, Andina was a winner. Kathleen and I visited there about ten years ago, and to be honest, they have improved even more since then… and we loved them then. I also had a cocktail (notice I said A cocktail…as the designated driver, I get one ?) but it was a winner. It was called a Carmen St. Revue. I asked the bartender for the recipe, but it contains so many special ingredients that it would be nearly impossible to recreate at home.

That was our day. Tomorrow is our last day in Portland, and I am not sure what we are doing. I had planned for us to visit the Oregon wine region, but after today’s long drive, I’m not sure if anyone is up for doing that.

This activist loves Oregon more than he loves life.   —Tom McCall

 

 

Cars, Planes, Waterfalls and of course…More Food!

by | Oct 9, 2025 | Uncategorized

Yesterday morning, we headed out to the Columbia Gorge (after a hotel breakfast that left much to be desired) to visit Multnomah Falls, Vista House, and Hood River. Then it would be back to Portland for some outstanding Greek food for dinner.

Multnomah Falls is about 25 miles due east of Portland in the Columbia River Gorge. That’s about all I can say about it, other than it is a waterfall, it’s pretty, and it’s fairly accessible. I will let some pretty pictures do the talking. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

After our waterfall experience, we drove about six miles back down the Gorge to drive up to Vista House. This is an old structure that perches on top of a very high point along the Columbia River and offers amazing views in both directions. I took a few shots there, and then we are off to Hood River.

Our next stop was at the Cascade Locks, where the original locks were built to allow steamships to bypass the rapids on the river. Took a couple of photos there as well.

About six months ago, my son Josh told us that he and his wife had visited Hood River and were really impressed. To the extent that they felt they could actually live there. For an urban lover like my son, that says a lot. So we had to go investigate. It turns out to be a pretty cool town. Our first stop was the pFriem Brewery, where we grabbed a delicious lunch. Here’s what we had.

When we emerged from the brewery, we were looking directly at the river. One of the things the Columbia is famous for is wind and windsurfing. Got a few photos of that as well.

One of the biggest attractions (but you have to look for it) is the WAAAM. That stands for Western Antique Airplane & Automobile Museum. My son also enjoyed this, which surprised me as well, until we drove up (it’s above the city by the airport) to see it. WOW! That’s all I can say. If you even slightly like cars and airplanes, this is the place you have to visit. Here are too many photos I took there. I can promise you that for every one you see here, there are five or six more I didn’t post. There are captions on my favorites.

If you aren’t into cars, feel free to skip ahead to dinner. Many of you know I have a thing for hood ornaments. I just think they are art that has been lost. So when I see good ones, I have to photograph them and add them to my collection. Here are the ones I found this time. No captions. Just the art of the hood ornament.

After we left WAAAM, it was a long drive back to Portland on the Washington side of the river so we could end up in Vancouver, WA, where I need to check in with my doctor for a quick follow-up test related to some issues from the radiation I had in March. No big deal. Everything’s better now.

That night, we had dinner reservations at Eleni’s Philoxenia, a highly-rated Greek restaurant in the Pearl District. We can see why it’s well-regarded. It was amazing—fantastic atmosphere, great music, superb service, and some of the best Greek food I’ve ever had. And I love Greek food.

That about covers our Wednesday. Portland is still awesome and we can’t wait to sail up the Columbia Gorge and see it from the water. Stick with us. That happens next week. Tomorrow (earlier today as I write this) we went out to the Oregon Coast.

Sometimes in L.A., we get accused of being superficial. I feel like Portland’s the opposite, in that there’s a greater depth of character, and sense of self.  —Ruben Fleischer