Author Archives: PompanoDan

Ahoy! After several hectic days in Gaeta, Italy starting to recommission Hazel James, we treated ourselves to a nine-day “Amalfimoon” (belated honeymoon in the Amalfi Coast). We then returned to Gaeta, and spent another week finishing HJ’s recommission, trying to figure out all the formalities required to enter Greek waters at least somewhat legally andContinue reading “Arrivederci!”

Titanicadjective : having great magnitude, force, or poweradjective : of or containing the element titaniumnoun : a family of giants in Greek mythology who were believed to have once ruled the earth, they were subsequently overpowered and replaced by the younger Olympian gods under the leadership of Zeusnoun : a luxury British cruise-liner that struckContinue reading “British Isles Part III: Titanic Hubris”

Although I like to think I have a “tell it like it is” blog-style and pull no punches, in this post I feel compelled to change a few names to protect the innocent. While typically “the innocent” are the people whose names have been changed, in this post we’ll switch it up since the innocentsContinue reading “Troubles”

Quick navigational note: This post makes extensive use of “galleries” (groups of pictures). These galleries seem to display differently depending on the viewing device and browser. If you see one large picture, there’s actually a group of pictures with it (a gallery). Midway down the picture look to the left and right for clickable arrowsContinue reading “A Best Day Ever, in 43,500 Words”

Our previous travelogue—Now THAT’s Interesting (mainland Europe edition)—spanned Northern Italy and Paris. Here, we pick up from where that post left off. I stand at a crossroads. Down one path a cacophonous scrum of blogosphere professionals, wrestle for likes, followers, and retweets. Down the other, a slight solitary silhouette is bathed in a heavenly glow.Continue reading “Now THAT’s Interesting,
British Isles Part I: Republic of Ireland”

OK, so I’m promising myself upfront that I will make this a simple post with just a couple reminders—and not some sappy spill-my-guts soliloquy. Here goes… Rhett and I are lining up for the final approach to our wedding (5 Days 17 Hrs 50 Mins. But hey, whose counting?). Here is the link to theContinue reading “Rome-antic”

“I feel like I’m walking on eggshells,” she muttered dejectedly. Followed by, “You take everything so seriously and so literally. I was just talking and your reaction is so much more dramatic than what I said.” I’m beginning to think that Mark Twain lied when he said that history only rhymes but doesn’t repeat itself.Continue reading “Eggshells”

So just what can a person learn from sailing across an ocean solo, reuniting with a soulmate, spending a summer cruising the Mediterranean, wintering his boat in Italy, and then traveling across Europe for three months? Surprisingly, quite a lot. Rhett, Sunny and I got back to the US on New Year’s Eve and sinceContinue reading “Now THAT’s Interesting (mainland Europe edition)”

Imagine an elaborate black and white movie transition sequence. From a time before computer enhancement, when high-end special effects were multiple films manually superimposed in a cutting room, ankle-deep with scraps of cellulose film. The Paris scene ends with the couple walking hand in hand out of their favorite little cafe on the Seine, aContinue reading “Save the Date”

Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast I sit in a Paris apartment, stymied. While it’s not the dirt-cheap garret apartment that a Lost Generation bohemian would have rented, it’s romantic nonetheless. Hemingway offers me comfort that I can organize my 52-card pickup ofContinue reading “The Block”