Last night was the big event. There were two shows – the eclipse and the people who wanted to see it. Holland America offered several talks about the eclipse. By far the most popular was offered by astrophysicist Dr. Adam Burgasser. He offered simple explanations to complex topics and did so with a solid dose of good humor. His first talk a few days ago was very well received. The auditorium was filled. His second talk was yesterday. Word of mouth brought a huge crowd. Every last theater seat was taken. Those who arrived on time found themselves standing in the aisle, packed shoulder to shoulder. When the sun is in total eclipse we can see the corona. There are several interesting features such as the ring of fire, devil’s horns, and others.

The captain did what he could to offer the best views to the most passengers. Word went out. Those on the starboard side would be able to watch the eclipse from their balconies. We are on the port side so we listened carefully to learn where we could get the best views. Half the way through Dr. Burgasser’s presentation, the crew announced the captain had changed his mind. Those on the port side could watch from their balconies. Good for us! (On a ship, there are only two rules. Rule 1: The captain is right. Rule 2: If the captain is wrong, refer to rule 1.)

The eclipse would start about 6:30 PM. We would get 90 seconds of totality.  At 6:00 Danita and I scouted the public viewing area on deck 10. People were lined up almost shoulder to shoulder. They were equipped with anything from a pair of cardboard eclipse sunglasses to a tripod holding an elaborate sophisticated camera. The very best viewing was on deck 11, which was reserved for an amateur photographer group that had booked a block of rooms.

— A plentitude of passengers

Danita and I decided to watch from our balcony where we could enjoy the comfort of our deck chairs. This being our third eclipse, I had finally learned that I could not get an amazing picture with a smart phone camera. We would just relax and enjoy the experience.

The eclipse started promptly on time. Viewing conditions were good. The weather was hot and dry. We watched while the sun was slowly blocked by the moon’s shadow. As we approached 90% coverage, the temperature dropped. The breeze picked up. Our world approached twilight. Just before totality, a cloud covered the sun. The cloud stayed for the entire totality and left as the sun started coming back. We never saw the corona, the ring of fire, the devel’s horns, or any of the other intricate features Dr. Burgasser prepared us for.

As one passenger observed at breakfast this morning, “going fishing” and “catching fish” are not the same thing. Danita and I felt a little letdown, but overall we had a great time. Some other passengers had a harder time. (Including Dr. Burgasser). The next eclipse will also be in southern Spain. Totality will be 6 minutes – an incredibility long time. It’s for sure that Danita and I won’t be around to see it. We have other plans for our summer sojourn next year.

Now it’s on to Barcelona.

We docked in Lisbon last Sunday. We had already visited Lisbon, but we hadn’t seen the Penna Palace, so we got a Viator tour. The difference in the quality of the tour was astounding. When we were in Tangier, we took a Holland America tour with about 50 people in our bus. The guide pointed to something in a museum and said “This is old.” Literally. The Viator tour had 7 people. The guide knew everything. Even with a great guide, I missed the symbology of the decorations. Here’s a picture of the main gate. The decorations bring out the best of Christianity and Muslims. Here’s the pic. Decide for yourself if you see the symbology.

The other port we stopped at was Alicante, which we also visited on August 4. We decided to visit the archeology museum. The museum is very modern and slick. The explanatory text is available in two languages, neither of which is English. They had a temporary exhibit which was available in English, about pre-Columbian native Americans. The message was clear. Native people = good, White people = bad. We had a good time anyway.

Today, the height of the cruise, is another sea day. Today we get to see the solar eclipse. Viewing conditions should be good. Depending on the local winds, there’s an excellent chance that we will be able to view the eclipse from our balcony.

I hope this finds everyone doing well.

Our ship docked in Tangier. Our Viator tour was cancelled at the last minute, so we used one of the Holland America tours to visit Tetouan, about an hour bus ride away from Tangier. The walled part of town is a World Heritage site. We spent plenty of time walking on very narrow streets. Our guide said it is impossible for cars to drive downtown. Everything must be brough in by horse or donkey. Our guide should know since he lives there, however … I didn’t see any evidence of horse or donkey effluent, but I did see a few of these.

I was surprised by how square the buildings are in Tangier. It’s typical to see two cubes, one stacked above the other. Often the upper level is somewhat larger than the ground floor. I dub it the “small and tall” look. There are few buildings with curved surfaces. Flat roofs accentuate the look. We saw plenty of mosques. In the west, if there is a tall tower or chimney it will usually be circular. All the mosques I saw had tall towers that were square (with four sides). I was also surprised by how vibrant the city is. Often walled cities end up being turned into endless tourist trap stores. Tetouan is filled with micro businesses selling food, building supplies, toys, restaurants, and anything else the people living in the area might need. You would have to look closely to find a tourist coffee cup or refrigerator magnet.

Tomorrow is a sea day. Hopefully it will be completely inconsequential. I hope this finds everyone doing well.

Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, so of course there is a Picasso museum. I never knew this, but when Danita was young, she had a Picasso book. She spent so much time looking at it that she literally wore the book out. We weren’t planning on buying anything on this trip, but I couldn’t resist getting my lovely wife a new Picasso book. I learned that Picasso worked with a wide variety of media. Here is a vase, purposely broken by the great man himself. The great surprise (for us) is that the museum was built on top of history that stretches back to the 6th century BC. When they built the art museum building, they preserved ancient walls, artifacts and such in the basement of the building. It was quite interesting.

— Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth. – Pablo Picasso

After a delicious lunch, we visited the bull ring. The bull fights start in a couple of weeks. Workers were cleaning, painting, and generally getting things ready. Here’s a picture of the matador’s chapel.

— Before entering the ring say a prayer, just in case.

I hope this finds everyone doing wel.

Our first stop was Ibiza. This island is known for it’s beaches and bars. There being nothing of interest for us, we used this as a relaxing “do nothing” day.

Today we stopped in Alicante. We took a 45 minute bus ride to Castello. We saw churches and castles. The most interesting thing that happened occurred in the wee hours of the pre-dawn day. Our ship encountered a boat holding 13 people that was declaring an emergency distress. We hung around until the Spanish authorities could take over. We got into port late so we are leaving late. Those people who like to drink cheap alcohol will be able to visit local bars until 10:30 tonight.

The even more interesting event is this evening’s dinner. This is a formal night. That means we can get escargot for our appetizer. It’s a bread dipper’s dream. Lots of garlic butter. Yummmmm!

… You can order an espresso, sit at an outdoor table, and make up stories about people you seepassing by.

… You can visit an intriguing museum, such as the museum of musical instruments. Listen to the audio guide. Admire some very old and some not-so-old examples of music making.

… Stop at a corner sandwich shop. Your sandwich will have an interesting and tasty mix of textures and flavors. Miles ahead of Jersey Mike’s.

Have a wonderful hotel breakfast. Bite into a powdered sugar coated croissant and find it has a chocolate cream filled center.

… Board the cruise ship. Let the taxi driver worry about how to get around all the closed roads and detours.

Now it’s off to the Mediterranean.

I hope all are doing well.

I don’t usually write about the future, but this week it’s too good to keep.

Our condo decided that our balconies need significant attention. The crews are doing two hoses at a time. We are the second house. They started out full of vim and vigor early Thursday morning. The hope was that the work would take one day. The crew supervisor told me it would be at least a day and a half. So far, after two days of work, our balcony is still not done. It’s safe to say our balcony should be done sometime Monday. Fortunately we have the key to Mark’s car. We moved it well out of the construction zone.

Tonight we have a neighborhood concert plus snacks. The musical duo comes with great reviews. We’re looking forward to it. If this follows the precedents of earlier events we have had, the snacks will be substantial enough to provide our dinner.

Moving ahead to Thursday, Charlestown (where Mom lives) is having a hamburger cookout luncheon. Both Danita and I plan to enjoy the cookout with Mom.

The very next day Danita and I will get on the airplane and fly to Chicago, then switch planes to go to Barcelona. We’ll wonder around Barcelona for a couple of days, then get on the cruise ship. We’ll have three weeks of cruising. With free laundry! Woo hoo!

So … altogether it’s a lot of excitement. The best thing is that we were home when the crew was working on our house. The crew is pretty good. The say it is OK to leave a car in the driveway. But I felt better getting our cars far away from any potential drops.

I hope this finds everyone doing well.

We started our weekend with a Food Truck dinner. Two of our neighbors joined us. For a special treat, Danita offered chocolate swirl cake topped with ice cream. It was fun, but just a starter.

JAMMM stayed overnight. The are on a 4-week tour, the first leg of which was a flight out of BWI. There was lots of excitement, gymnastics, story times, and general running around. Mother Nature joined in the fun by offering a most dramatic thunder storm. We enjoyed the show on the dry side of our deck door. For dinner, the adults enjoyed a dinner of Indian curry while the two young munchkins devoured 9 1/2 fish sticks. Then they did a very credible job of removing every last bit of ice cream from their desert bowl. Safe travels!

We are in a drought period. Last week with high temperatures with a “real feel” of up to 110. Then we got rain. I know we are in a drought, but we’ve had plenty of rain, rain, rain. Enough already! The weather finely turned today. We are looking forward to a week of nice weather.

We haven’t done much this week. We had a food truck Thursday. A neighborhood party Saturday (bad hamburgers, sides and deserts provided by attendees). Tonight we will go to a Jimmy Buffet tribute band in Catonsville.

I sold my recumbent trike. I still had a bike carrier designed to let me haul the bike on the back of our car. It is large and heavy. It’s so heavy that it comes with wheels. That’s a good thing because there is no way I could pick it up. I put the carrier on Craig’s List. There was no response. After two weeks, I re-listed it. Again it drew no response. In desperation I put it up on our local Facebook group, offering it free to anybody living in our neighborhood. The very next day, a guy in Virginia called. He drove over hour to get here. We played around with it until he was satisfied it was OK. He paid cash. That’s a good thing. It’s not a ton of money, but it’s good to get a little cash. What’s much more important is that he wants to use it. He likes to drive to a group ride, take the bike off his car, and ride with his group. It’s good to know the carrier will be used. Also it gives us a little more room in our very cramped garage. Yea!

That’s it for this week. I hope everytbody is doing well.

It was a quiet week. Last Sunday we went to Essex Community College to se the musical Xanadu. I am always pleasantly surprised at the quality of their presentations.

Unless you are living under a rock, you know that this weekend is the 250th birthday of our country. There was music, fireworks, and amusements all all kinds. That made this weekend an ideal time to stay home. There had to be some pretty heavy and widespread partying. We had about half the normal number of people at Mass this morning. We went to IHOP for our Sunday breakfast. It also had notably fewer patrons. No doubt aspirin consumption this morning was off the charts.

I hope all are fully recovered from your celebrations and all are doing well.