April 29, 2023 We tendered into Oban. It is a small, picturesque fishing community. It is known as the "Gateway to the Islands" and is the unofficial capital of the West HIghlands of Scotland. The view from the ship emphasized its location in the Highlands and it was surrounded by the hills of the Highlands. We didn't have a bus tour and I was feeling a bit better so I went into town with Brent. It was fun to poke around in the shops and walk along the waterfront. Oban is fam

April 28, 2023 I was still under the weather when we arrived at the Isle of Skye, our first port in Scotland. I was sorry to miss the tour of the West Highlands, but it felt it was best not to spread the cold my sore throat had developed into. Brent did have a great time seeing the Eilean Dolan Castle and learning about the Highlands. I will need to return someday as I have ancestors from the Highlands. The MacIans were a part of the McDonald clan that feuded with the Campbel

April 16, 2021 We awoke today to the white cliffs of Dover instead of Le Havre, France. Because of the protests in France over the new retirement age, we were unable to come into the port. Rather than spending a day at sea, the captain was able to arrange for us to visit Dover instead. There was a shuttle with stops at both the town of Dover and the Dover castle. We stopped at the Dover castle first. We crossed an actual drawbridge into the castle grounds and gazed out over t

April 15, 2023 Today, after our walk together around Weymouth, Great Britain, Brent took a tour of the Tank Museum in Bovington to see over 300 tanks and other military machines used in key battles from World War II to the modern day. Our day began with the ship coming into to port at Portland (not Oregon). We had missed our stop in Brest, France the day before because of rough seas. We hopped on a shuttle and went to the seaside town of Weymouth to wander around. We didn't s