Ever wanted to cruise but found it too expensive? Try a repositioning trip. At season’s end in fall and spring, some ships reposition, from the Caribbean to Alaska or Mexico, from Canada/New England to the Caribbean, and/or from Europe to the States, or vice versa. If a line finds greater demand from another port, they may choose to reposition for economic reasons. For convenience of flights, regular cruises often begin and end in the same ports. Repositioning cruises depart and embark at different locations. Therefore,
A Wall Street Journal article on Friday, April 19, 2013 discussed the rising prices of women’s art. When thinking of women artists, most people remember Georgia O’Keeffe’s (1887-1996) paintings of landscapes, desert, and especially close-up flowers. Few people realize women
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My high school years were filled with Elvis Presley; his music and movies. I loved the candid pictures of his naturally radiant smile rather than the sexy serious looks of promotional shots. Fans looked up to him because of his generosity to those less fortunate, or the gifts he gave to unsuspecting individuals. Once his Las Vegas days and concerts in later years included news of substance abuse, women, and more explicit gyrations, some fans dropped away, including me. Still, I grieved upon hearing of his early death. So the only place I
The snow predicted for last week’s Tuesday afternoon arrived early in the morning. Our drive to DIA on mostly wet, slick roads from Fort Collins took longer than expected. Once there, our noon flight was delayed because heavily overcast skies and runway conditions caused diversion of our incoming plane to Colorado Springs. We were in no hurry. Even with a delay, our 6:30 dinner reservations in Santa Rosa, California, seemed makeable. We finally left Denver about an hour and a half late. No problem – yet.
Of all the plantations viewed along the Mississippi River cruise aboard the American Queen, Oak Alley fulfilled every idea of southern antebellum homes (houses built and occupied before the Civil War). Visions of Tara in “Gone with the Wind” came to mind (columned portico, wide staircase, opulent furniture, servants). Today Oak Alley may not now compare to Tara, but it probably did in its heyday.
Located on a rural highway along the Mississippi River, the plantation lays approximately half way between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, a little less than a two hour drive

When we disembarked from the American Queen in New Orleans at the end of our Mississippi cruise, little did we know we were stepping into the beginning of Carnival. Not a carnival with Ferris wheels and rollercoasters, but the city’s season of fun, food, frivolity, parades, and masked balls before the somber days of abstinence during Lent.
Over New Years we sailed down the Mississippi from Memphis to New Orleans on the American Queen. Boarding the paddlewheel steamboat was like stepping onto a larger version of the Cotton Blossom of “Show Boat” movie fame. Everywhere I looked, I saw southern Victorian items; furnishings, china, hats, gloves, dolls, wallpaper, and portraits. Specialty rooms called “The Ladies’ Parlor” and “The Men’s Card Room” provided quiet reading alcoves or
Organizers have once again secured the beautiful Planet Bluegrass Ranch as the venue to host the 8th Annual Colorado Cane Conclave on Sunday, August 4, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Conclave is a fun-filled gathering of anglers who build, collect, fish, and enjoy fine bamboo rods and other vintage tackle. It is also an excellent opportunity for anyone who wants to try “casting cane” but has not yet had the opportunity, to take advantage of the ranch’s half-mile
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By the time this article makes the paper, my husband and I will be enjoying the last day of our cruise down the Mississippi (provided there is enough water) aboard the American Queen steamboat. Jazzdagen, our Dixieland Jazz cruise agency, hasn’t offered this New Year’s trip in several years. Now I know why.
The government maritime agency, which originally built the vessel, repossessed it and let it sit in Beaumont, Texas, for three years. Its sister ship, the
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