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Thursday, May 29, 2025 - It's  GO HOME DAY!!! We made it! After our 132-day journey around the world, it's disembarkation day.  This morning we'll disembark the Silver Dawn for the final time on this 2025 World Cruise and fly back home to California. It's been a great cruise but I am thrilled to be going home to see my grandkids.  For a great majority of the time, both of us were healthy.  I was sick for a few days at the very beginning of the trip, and for the last few days of the trip  both Bob and I had terrible colds.  Bob took one fall early in the voyage.  He fell on his enormous camera and may have broken a rib but didn't see the ship's Dr. since there's nothing to be done for broken ribs anyway.  His rib is still a bit sore.  Thankfully, I had no falls! This morning will be  quite hectic.  They assigned us a time of 8:00 a.m. to disembark the ship, then we will get into a limo which will take us to the airport.  On our ...
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Monday, May 26th and Tuesday, May 27th, 2025 - Boston, Massachusetts USA YAY! WE'RE BACK HOME IN THE USA! So excited to be back in our home country after a lengthy, but fabulous, journey around the world.  We have two days in Boston before we sail to our final port of New York.  I am also excited because my younger brother, Dane, and his wife, Claudia, my beautiful sister-in-law will come aboard for the day.   We are up early this morning to be ready for U.S. Immigration Officers who are coming onboard for a face-to-face inspection.  Afterwards, we will continue to work on organizing our belongings and finish packing up last minute items in preparation for disembarkation on Thursday morning.  Then, we will just wait until my brother arrives!  So excited to spend time with them.   Monday, May 26th - Family Time Today was very special.  My brother, Dane, and his wife, Claudia, came aboard the ship for a tour and to have dinner with us....
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Saturday, May 24, 2025 - Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Halifax, Nova Scotia , is a city steeped in dramatic history and bursting with vibrant modern life.  Nestled on the wild, windswept Atlantic coast, Halifax dazzles visitors and residents alike with its stunning natural harbor, lively culture, and resilient spirit. Long before European sails appeared on the horizon, the area now known as Halifax was the cherished territory of the Mi'kmaq people, who called it Jipugtug--the "Great Harbor."  Their deep connection to the land is still felt in the city's parks and along its sparkling shores.   In the 1600's, adventurous French settlers arrived, establishing the colony of Acadia.  However, it was the determined British, who founded the bustling town of Halifax, transforming it into a strategic naval fortress and a vital military outpost.  The city's imposing Citadel Hill stands as a proud  reminder of those turbulent, formative years, when British redcoa...
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Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada Perched on the eastern edge of North America, St. John’s, Newfoundland , is a city where history and vibrancy collide in a riot of color and character. As the oldest and most easterly city on the Northern American continent, St. John’s is a living tapestry woven from centuries of maritime adventure, cultural resilience, and the indomitable spirit of its people . St. John’s history reads like an epic saga. European fishermen first sought its sheltered harbor in the early 1500s, drawn by the promise of the teeming Grand Banks just offshore . The city’s name, legend holds, comes from explorer John Cabot, who is said to have sailed into the harbor on June 24, 1497—St. John the Baptist’s feast day . Early maps marked it as São João, San Joham, and St. Jehan, reflecting the international scramble for its riches. The 16th and 17th centuries saw St. John’s become a bustling seasonal outpost, its fortunes tied to the cod...
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Saturday, May 17, 2025 - Nuuk, Greenland In the middle of the icy embrace, Nuuk is located on Greenland's western coast, a city where history and modernity converge in a tapestry as vibrant as the Northern Lights that dance above it.  Nuuk is Greenland's capital and largest city and is both a cultural beacon and a testament to resilience against the Arctic's unforgiving elements. Nuuk's story begins long before its formal founding in 1728 by Danish-Norwegian missionaries.  The region was first inhabited by the Saqqaq culture around 2200 BC, followed by the Dorset people and later Norse settlers around 1000 AD.  These Norse communities thrived until their mysterious disappearance in the 15th century.  Inuit ancestors, the Thule people, then claimed the land, living harmoniously with nature until European hunters arrived in search of whale blubber in the 16th century. The Europeans established a settlement named Godthab, meaning Good Hope, aiming to  convert the ...