How to Pick the Right Cruise Cabin By a Goldilocks-like process of elimination—this one’s too small, this one’s too loud—you can find a stateroom that’s just right.
On paper, choosing a cruise cabin seems pretty simple. There are four basic styles: insides (no window), outsides (with window), balcony, and suite. But booking a stateroom is not a snap. Even though there are just four room styles, cruise lines divvy them into as many as 20 price categories. A cabin’s location, size, and amenities determine the price, which generally increases the higher, bigger, and more deluxe you go. The trick is figuring out what’s worth paying extra for, and that depends on your priorities. If you don’t plan to spend much time in your cabin, feel free to book the cheapest price you can find. But if you think of your stateroom as a retreat, proceed carefully and avoid these not-so-ideal scenarios.
A CABIN THAT’S TOO SMALL Cruise cabins are designed for maximum efficiency, so they’re generally more than adequate as long as you’re neat and you haven’t over-packed. Some cabins, however, are just plain minuscule. Rooms on older vessels can be as little as 100 square feet, particularly for inside cabins. If this is your home for a week, you might feel like an inmate in a cell. When looking at cabin measurements, note that cruise lines often include the veranda in the overall square footage. A balcony cabin on Celebrity Summit, for example, may look about average size at 208 square feet, but that factors in 38 square feet of veranda. The cabin itself measures just 170 square feet. So the advice is: Think hard before booking a cabin that’s extraordinarily small—say, one that’s less than 150 square feet, not including the veranda. What to ask a travel agent: What’s the square footage of the cabin? Does that figure include a veranda?
A CABIN THAT’S TOO LOUD A ship’s deck plans, available at each cruise line’s website, are easily readable, like this one for the Carnival Ecstasy. It’s important to check what’s below, above, and around the corner from the cabin you’re considering. Avoid anything right under the lido buffet, as meals are served nearly around-the-clock. Unless you plan to close the ship’s late-night disco, don’t book a stateroom nearby. If your cabin is just below the pool deck, your morning wake up call could be the scraping sound of chaise lounges being dragged into position. Cabins on lower decks are cheaper largely because guests have to put up with the hum of propellers. The best bet is to choose a cabin that has staterooms above and below it—and then cross your fingers that the neighbors in every direction aren’t rowdy night owls.
What to ask a travel agent: How noisy will the cabin be? Are there restaurants, discos, pools, or public areas nearby that’ll keep me up at night? Every outside cabin pretty much looks out on a similar sea-and-sky vista, but there are some notable differences. Most are located either port or starboard, so you’re always looking sideways. A front-facing stateroom lets you see where you’re heading, but also takes the brunt of wind and rough seas—the big reason why these cabins rarely come with balconies. Backward-facing cabins boast the best views. There’s something incredibly Zen-like about gazing at the wake and the panorama behind the ship. Backward-facing cabins are hard to come by because most cruise lines devote that part of the ship to public spaces. Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity Cruises are among the lines that regularly have backward-facing cabins.What to ask a travel agent: What’s the view like? Can I get a better view for the same money? A CABIN THAT FEELS LIKE GRAND CENTRAL STATION Many passengers prefer centrally-located cabins because they’re close to stairways, elevators, pools, and buffets. Still, there’s such a thing as too central a location. Stateroom doors are absurdly flimsy, so you’ll hear pretty much everything going on outside. There is no truly quiet corner of a cruise ship. But it’s smart to avoid lower deck cabins that are close to the ship’s atriums—the extravagantly designed openings, often several stories high, attract a lot of foot traffic. In a cabin around the corner from an atrium, you’ll hear the hordes milling or power walking past your door from dawn to dusk. What to ask a travel agent: How close is the cabin to the ship’s atriums? Is the cabin on the main walking path for people disembarking or re-boarding the ship?
A CABIN THAT’LL MAKE YOU SICK Newer ships have all sorts of nifty stabilizers that try to tame the sea and give passengers a smoother ride. Most people feel fine, even during mildly rough seas. But if you are unusually sensitive to movement, you may want to forego the higher decks. The higher you go, the more likely you’ll get not only back and forth (or side to side) rocking, but will also feel an unsettling swaying effect. Stick to the center, the most stable part of the ship, and by all means avoid any stateroom within a dozen cabins of the front.
What to ask a travel agent: I’m worried about getting sick if the seas get rocky. Can you book me in a cabin in the most stable location?
Note: This story was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
Advance Planning Booking early is always the best way to get a great price and your choice of available staterooms. We recommend that you book your cruise even a year in advance, if possible; the earlier you book, the better the price and the availability. All Guests — including children — booked on a cruise that begins on or after January 1, 2008 will need a passport to travel to the Caribbean and Mexico. Start planning ahead now. Visit the U.S Department Of State Passport Page for the information you need to apply for a passport, including how much it will cost.
When Is The Best Time To Cruise Summer and holidays, including spring break, are the most popular periods for cruising and tend to cost a bit more than other times. If your schedule is flexible, sailing during non-peak periods — such as the fall — offers a great value. As always, the farther in advance you book, the better the price and the availability.
Cruise Itinerary Select an itinerary that fits your needs. Three- and four-night cruises offer a wonderful way to sail for a very reasonable budget — they’re great weekend getaways and ideal for first time cruisers who want to get a feel for cruising. Longer seven-night Caribbean and special cruise itineraries take you to more ports, along with days at sea to enjoy all the activities and entertainment aboard a Cruise ship. The Southern Seven Night Cruise out of San Juan, Puerto is a great itinerary. If possible you should arrive in San Juan a day before the cruise ship departure,spend the night in Old Juan,and the next day you boardyour ship by mid after noon and set sail around 8:30,spend the night getting use to the ship,eating and drinking,and what have you.If you should fall asleep, you will wake up facing the morning sun in another country. The golden rays of dawn early light just may be the morning warming sun of ST. Thomas or ST. Croix of the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Tortola of the British Virgin Islands. Spend the day on one of these islands shopping,eating, snorkeling,scuba diving, swimming or just sun bathing on the beach. The process continues until Barbados or Grenada, then it is a full day of cruising back to San Juan.
Now, as a footnote, after the right cabin has been selected, as well as the ideal cruise itinerary all there is left to do is pack and hit the high seas. Now, there is one thing that must be included in your traveling bag, that is common sense. Like you would not leave home without your Master Card,Visa, American Express, Dinner Club,and Discover Card, don’t leave home without common sense. Be aware of your surroundings at all times, no matter how safe and secure the area may appear to be. Now, get out there and enjoy yourself, make some waves….

Part of this article was excerpted from “Smooth Sailing”, By Carolyn Spencer Brown,editor in chief of CruiseCritic.com
“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
 

Click to View photo slide show of a cruise The Caribbean

Traveling or vacations should be more than getting from point “A” to point “B” in a mad dash. Traveling or vacations should not be going to grandma and grandpa or back to the home place with every chance that you get. Vacations and traveling should be a time to break away from the norm. Traveling or vacations should be awe-inspiring, educational, entertaining, and most of all relaxing; however, who you choose to travel with can make or break a great get-a-way. I would say that when and if you take a road trip, vacation, or cruise with a group or a few friends everyone one should be on the same page with the same idea. One can not want to golf while another want to swim, while another want to hang out in bars. I do all I can to stay away from group tours. Now if someone want to get off the beaten path and indulge in the local culture, I am all for that, but bar hopping and golfing I can do without. It is a given that with the world threat of terrorism it has become very difficult to travel, also with the TSA, the high cost of air travel, the high price of gas for the family automobile traveling is almost a luxury item that most can ill afford. However, there is a need to relax and nourish the body and soul. With common sense and intuitions a person can still get out and about and enjoy life like it was before 9/11. Thinking back, before 9-11, in 1995 I went to Spain on a military deployment and I really had a wonderful time there. My first funny moment occurred shortly after I arrived at the US Naval Air Station in Rota, and went out to my first restaurant. I was with a person who said that they spoke spanish and they were going to order drinks and food. They were talking to the waitress, who was looking at them like they were crazy, and wondering what language they were speaking. So I asked the waitress, “do you speak English”, and she replied, “yes”, and she asked what language my friend was speaking, I replied, “Spanish,” and she laughed and said with a big smile a mile wide, “Oh, Mexican, I see, but we do not speak Mexican here.” Now, the moral of this story if there is one, don’t assume that you have to be bi-lingual, nor fluent or proficient in the language of a country that you may visit. Almost everyone speaks English, now American English is a whole “nuther pig”, or horse of a different color. I think Winston Churchill or Betrand Russell said it best when they said, “Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language”, or we can take a page out of Paul Newman in the movie Cool Hand Luke’s book,”What we have here is a failure to communicate”. Now here is my take on Spain, I will not try to be an expert because I just went with the flow and had a great time. My visit began in Rota, a town of approximately 27,000 people in the Andalusia region of Spain, located in Cádiz province, across the Bay of Cádiz from the city of that name.
Rota: is bordered by the towns of Chipiona, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María. It is located on the Atlantic coast, approximately halfway between Portugal and Gibraltar.The current town was founded by the Phoenicians at approximately the same time as Cádiz. Rota is assumed to be the same city known as Astaroth of the Tartesian empire. It later passed to the Romans, who knew the town as Speculum Rotae. Following the arrival of the Moors in Spain, the city became known as Rabita Rutta (“watchtower of Rota”), from which it derives its present name. From 1248 onwards, the Moors were gradually expelled from Spain, and the city became Christian
Madrid:The capital of Spain, located in the heart of the peninsula and right in the center of the Castillian plain 2,199 feet above sea level, has a population of over three million. A cosmopolitan city, a business center, headquarters for the Public Administration, Government, Spanish Parliament and the home of the Spanish Royal Family, Madrid also plays a major role in both the banking and industrial sectors. Most of its industry is located in the Southern fringe of the city, where important textile, food and metal working factories are clustered. Madrid is characterized by intense cultural and artistic activity and a very lively nightlife The grand metropolis of Madrid can trace its origins to the times of Arab Emir Mohamed I (852-886), who ordered the construction of a fortress on the left bank of the Manzanares river. Later it became the subject of a dispute between the Christians and Arabs until it was conquered by Alonso VI in the 11th century.
Barcelona:The city of Barcelona In a privileged position on the northeastern coast of the Iberian peninsula and the shores of the Mediterranean, Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain in both size and population. It is also the capital of Catalonia, 1 of the 17 Autonomous Communities that make up Spain. There are two official languages spoken in Barcelona: Catalan, generally spoken in all of Catalonia, and Castillian Spanish. The city of Barcelona has a population of 1.510.000, but this number spirals to more than 4.000.000 if the outlying areas are also included. The capital of Catalonia is unequivocally a Mediterranean city, not only because of its geographic location but also and above all because of its history, tradition and cultural influences. The documented history of the city dates back to the founding of a Roman colony on its soil in the second century B.C. Modern Barcelona experienced spectacular growth and economic revival at the onset of industrialization during the second half of the 19th century. The 1888 World’s Fair became a symbol of the capacity for hard work and the international outlook projected by the city. Culture and the arts flourished in Barcelona and in all of Catalonia; the splendor achieved by Catalonian modernism is one of the most patent displays.
Cadiz: Cadiz is a city in southwestern Spain and one of the ports of call on a Disney Cruise Line European Cruise vacation. Being the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, it is a family vacation destination steeped in rich antiquity.
Cadiz is one of 8 provinces that comprise the autonomous community of Andalusia; it serves as a continual link between Spain and the rest of Europe. Cadiz has also served as a gateway to the New World since the discovery of America, making it not only a vibrant high-traffic port, but a hotspot for cultural exchange and activity.There are abundant wonders and many things to see and do in Cadiz. Visitors can sample the rich and ancient history of the city at its various landmarks—each preserving the styles of the periods in which it was built. Treat your family to many of these architectural styles at the Cathedral (la Catedral). No single edifice touches upon so many aspects of Cadiz’s history than this one—built over a period of 116 years by several different renowned architects. It incorporates a gorgeous combination of baroque, rococo and neo-classical styles. Tourists can also journey through time by visiting the spectacular 18th-century Torre Tavira watchtower or the grand and stately Plaza España—a city square built in commemoration of the 100-year anniversary of the city’s constitution and dominated by the awe-inspiring Monument to the Constitution of 1812. There’s also the Santa Catalina Fortress, a military fortification built in 1598 that has recently been converted to a concert and exhibition hall, or most excitingly, an ancient and intact Roman theater that was serendipitously discovered underneath the foundation of a warehouse destroyed by fire in 1980. Venture inland to Medina Sidonia and discover an unspoiled hillside village straight out of the Middle Ages. Walk cobblestone streets, inspect the Gothic church, study the Moorish gates and admire a collection of tile-roofed white buildings dotting the hillside. Cadiz is a city with its own distinctive culture, and one that proves exciting and new for most visitors.
Andalusia:Distinctive architecture, sun-drenched resorts and eclectic small towns dot Andalusia, a dry, mountainous region of southern Spain that maintains echoes of its Moorish occupation. Spring and fall bring balmy temperatures, ideal for visiting Seville’s cathedral, the world’s largest Gothic structure, and the 1,200-year-old mosque in CÂrdoba. Romantics love Granada, home to the fortress of Alhambra and an inspiration to the late poet Federico García Lorca. Don’t miss a dip in the sea along the Costa del Sol.
Cordoba: As impressive and surprising Cordoba presents itself to today’s visitor, as impressive and surprising was its past. Not many know that in 11th century it was one
of the most important capitals in Europe. People of the most different cultures and religions – Jews, Muslims and Christians – were living peacefully together, and important philosophers, scientists and artists emerged from here. Knowing about Cordoba’s
cultural background you will certainly find interesting additional aspects when visiting its great monuments – first of all of course the world-famous Mezquita, the Moorish mosque – and museums. On the other hand Cordoba is as well a very lively town in the best Andalusian tradition, a town of Flamenco and bullfighting, and certainly one of the most attractive destinations in southern Spain.
Seville: Serville is located in the South of Spain. A provincial capital, seat of the government and parliament of the Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía (Regional Government). It has more than 700,000 inhabitants, nearly half the population of the whole province. The city of Seville is located on the plain of the Guadalquivir river which crosses the city from North to South. The river can be navigated from Seville all the way to its outlet near Sanlúcar de Barrameda, on the Atlantic coast. In the past the port of Seville played an important role in commerce between Spain and the Americas and it remains today one of the most active river ports of the Iberian peninsula. The Tartessians were the original founders of Hispalis. Next to this settlement, in 207 B.C., the Romans built Itálica. It was the centre of their Western Mediterranean dominions for seven centuries until the Roman empire was overrun by Northern barbarians at the beginning of the 10th century. The long Moorish occupation of the Iberian peninsula, from 711 A.D. to 1248 A.D., left indelible traces in Seville as in all of Al-Andalus. La Giralda, the tower of an important mosque, is the most well-known of the remaining Islamic monuments. In 1492 Seville played an important role in the discovery and conquest of America. The 17th century was a period of artistic splendour in Seville. Painters such as Velázquez, Murillo and Valdés Leal, and sculptors like Martínez Montañés were born in Seville and left behind important works. The city also assumed an important role in world literature and was the birthplace of the myth of Don Juan. On two occasions in the 20th century Seville has been in the spotlight of the world’s attention. In 1929, it hosted the Latin American Exhibition, which left important urban improvements in the city. More recently, Expo 92 reinforced the image of Seville as a modern and dynamic city.
Granada: Granada was first settled by native tribes in the prehistoric period, and was known as Ilbyr. When the Romans colonised southern Spain, they built their own city here and called it Illibris. The Arabs, invading the peninsula in the 8th century, gave it its current name of Granada. It was the last Muslim city to fall to the Christians in 1492, at the hands of Queen Isabel of Castile and her husband Ferdinand of Aragon. One of the most brilliant jewels of universal architecture is the Alhambra, a series of palaces and gardens built under the Nazari Dynasty in the 14th C. This mighty compound of buildings – including the summer palace called Generalife, with its fountains and gardens – stands at the foot of Spain’s highest mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, and overlooks the city below and the fertile plain of Granada.
MARBELLA: Marbella stands in considerable contrast, after another sequence of apartment-villa urbanizaciones, to most of what’s come before. It is undisputedly the “quality resort” of the Costa del Sol, where restaurants and bars are more stylish and everything costs considerably more. It has the highest per capita income in Europe and more Rolls Royces than any European city apart from London (although many of the classy cars here are rumoured to have been stolen elsewhere and re-registered in Spain). Recently the Spanish government and local police have been exercised by the arrival in Marbella of Russian and Italian mafia bosses who have been buying up property and using
Marbella as a base to control their criminal empires, while in an ironic twist of history, there’s been a massive return of Arabs to the area, especially since King Fahd of Saudi Arabia built a White House lookalike, complete with adjacent mosque, on the town’s outskirts.To be fair, the town has been spared the worst excesses of concrete architecture inflicted upon Torremolinos. Marbella also retains the greater part of its old town – set back a little from the sea and the new development. Centred on the Plaza de los Naranjos and still partially walled, the old town is hidden from the main road and easy to miss. Slowly, this original quarter is being bought up and turned into “quaint” clothes boutiques and restaurants, but this process isn’t that far advanced. You can still sit in an ordinary bar in a small old square and look up beyond the whitewashed alleyways to the mountains of Ronda. The truly rich don’t stay in Marbella itself. They secrete themselves away in villas in the surrounding hills or lie around on phenomenally large and luxurious yachts at the marina and casino complex of Puerto Banús, 6km out of town towards San Pedro. If you’re impoverished, this fact is worth noting as it’s sometimes possible to find work scrubbing and repairing said yachts – and the pay can be very reasonable. As you’d expect, Puerto Banús has more than its complement of cocktail bars and seafood restaurants, most of them very pricey.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain

“…travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”……St. Augustine

This is the second of three possible posting that I will make on my time in Israel. In 1993 I soon learned that there is Israel, and then there is Israel, the Israel that most tourists and visitors seldom if ever see, if they do it is the rushed fifty cent tour through the windshield of a tour bus or van. I am not against tour buses or guided tours, they are great for those who need structure. They give you a quick over view of the area, you see a lot. For the price, they can not be beat. However, most of the time you do not see what you want to see. As for me, I don’t like to play follower the leader like little duckies to the pond. Now with that said let me add that if you truly want to see Israel, have a memorable experience, and indulge in the culture and country, the planning should begin before you leave home. All tours to Israel are not the same. It would be a very bad thing if you want to party buck nude on the beach in Tel Aviv and end up on a devout religious tour, or end up on a christian tour with a group who will not consider anything out side of the bible, more importantly you get caught on the wrong side of the fence, in an area that is off  limit, in other words use common sense. I say this because Israel is much more than the land where Jesus, Peter, Paul, and Mary lived. Israel is also where the Romans, Babylonians, and Egyptians ruled, and the crusades of the Knights Templars, and it would be great to step back into history and time. I will say, if you want to get the most bang for the money from a bus tour in Israel, get friendly with the driver and the assigned tour guide and give them a few extra shekels. I am speaking from first hand knowledge. My only bus tour of Israel was with a woman  selected by the Officer in Charge  from our cadre to be the group leader and spokesperson because she was a divinity student and knew the bible back and forth, and spoke fluent biblical Hebrew, but she didn’t know Jack about history. I would have had a miserable tour had it not been for the bus driver and the tour guide who saw that I was very interested in seeing Israel, and was aware of the history of the country, so they did some cool, smooth, shady, and underhanded things to get me a seat in the lead or escort van. You can bet your sweet bippy that this did not go over well with Commanding Officer, and I was persona non gratis and was in the first, second, and third place on the crap list. The tour bus and van would make a stop for an hour or so , the driver and tour guide would tell the group we will meet at a certain place and time, then me, the tour guide and sometime the van driver would go to some places and sites that were not on the tour itinerary. On our way from Beersheva to Jerusalem the tour bus made a quick loop through Ashdod and Ashkelon, and drove pass Hebron so fast that I almost got whip-lash trying to see the place. Because of the circumstances we did not dare stop in Ashkelon or Ashdod, Hebron was strictly off limit. We made it to the rumored site of the ancient cities of Saddam (Sodom) and Gamora(Gomorrah) on the Dead Sea. Next we drove pass Masada to En Gedi. Then the tour guide said look quick there is Jericho, as we made the turn to Jerusalem via Bethlehem. Because of the prevailing circumstances we could not enter Jericho. We made a stop at Kibbutz Tel Tzora near Jerusalem for refreshment. This is where Samson tomb is, and of course I went looking for it. In the old city of Jerusalem I had a quick tour of the city with the bus driver and tour guide. After our tour we went to a restaurant  owned  by a Palestinian who spoke 21 languages, fluently I might add. He also spoke a little of several other languages. It appeared as if his establishment was known to tourists. It was amazing to hear him speak to his customers in Dutch, German, Flemish, Portuguese, English, or Japanese. He gave us a tray of bread, falafels, tea, orange juice, coffee and tea. While the group was shopping and sightseeing, I was enjoying myself with the locals and tourist from other countries. Sad to say his restaurant is no longer there. After we left Jerusalem we made a stop in Tel Aviv and Jaffa. In Joppa (Jaffa), the divinity student was not aware that Peter worked miracles in the area, or that this was one of the cities of the Jonah and the whale story. With the tour guide I went to the home of Simon the Tanner, a close friend of Peter. We had coffee with an elderly descendant of Simon and gave him a few shekels. We also made a quick 11 mile trip to Lod (Lydda) where Peter was ministering before he arrived in Jaffa to the home of Simon. On our way to Nazareth we did the windshield tour of Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine. I took  a quick walk through Cana. I saw the church of the wedding. I also saw one of those water pitcher’s or jars that Jesus waved his hand over and turned the water into wine. Looking at the size of that jar, I said to myself, whoa baby for the size of that jar, I tell you, I would have hated to have been the water boy. If that jar was over flowing with wine, there was some serious hanky panky going on after the party. In Nazareth had it not been for my association with the driver and his tour guide I would have been left at Mazzawi gifts and handicrafts store talking to a group of people. Well, some people from Africa were in the store, and they thought that I was a Falasha, Ethiopian, or Nigerian. One woman walked up to me and spoke to me in Yoruba, then a man walked over and spoke to me in Swahili, then one woman walked over and spoke to me in Amharic, and I was looking at them in amazement because I could not understand a word they were saying. Then the woman who had spoke to me in Amharic asked me in perfect English, “Do you speak English”, I replied, “yes I do”, then she said that there was a bet on that I was from West Africa, I replied, “sad to say that I am from the state of Mississippi in America,” Then I was gang rushed, everyone had questions for me. I sat and had tea, cookies, dates, olives, and bread with them, and this really was impressing the driver and the tour guide. The  group was on the bus and were waiting on us, and they were getting a little angry, and calling me a show off. In Acre, the divinity student was one lost and confused individual. She did not know that this was another city of the Jonah and the Whale story, and the Knights Templar’s. Me and the tour guide went to the site where John the Baptist  is alleged to have been  beheaded, to a still flowing water well that was use by the Knights Templar’s, and saw some of their caves and tunnels, then we had refreshment and a snack at the Ptolmais Restaurant owned by the Telyas  Brothers. We left Acre for Nahariya, on our way there we made a stop in Megiddo, the site of several historical and biblical battles. We also made a stop at the ancient seaport and city of Caesarea, but I was the only one interested in those places, or knew anything about them. Most of the group was dying of beer withdrawal and in a rush to make our hotel, the Carlton in Nahariya. The hotel was a seaside resort, where the party went on all night. There was several international restaurants in the hotel, three full bars. In the amusements park next to the hotel there was a Bedouin tent to relax in. If peace and quite was in order, you could sit on the seaside promenade and listen to the waves of the Mediterranean sea, or just lay out in the sand and bake in the sun. While everyone were settling in and looking over the area, pounding back a few beers, me and the tour guide took the 7 mile dive up to Rosh Hanikra, the Northern most point in Israel, and the border of Lebanon, just a  mere 120 miles from Beirut. I had a leisure tour of the area, because the next morning that would be the first stop on our way to Galilee, and it would be in and out because the group wanted to spend as much time at the Yardenit (Yarden), the baptism site of Jesus on the Jordan River as possible. The next morning our day began with a stop in Rosh Hanikra as planed, and the divinity student got her comeuppance so to speak. She walked over to a shop owner who was sitting out front of his shop reading the morning news paper. She walked over and spoke to him in her best biblical Hebrew, he looked at her as if she had lost her ever loving mind. For several minutes she tried to converse with him but to no avail. I walked over to him and greeted him in the only Arabic word that I knew from the movies. He stood up, and returned the greeting. I asked him could we shop in his shop, and in prefect English he said sure. The divinity student said to me, “I did not know that you knew Hebrew”, I told her that I was not speaking Hebrew, I was speaking  Arabic.Then she asked me how did I know that he was an Arab. I replied, ” Look at the news paper that he was reading, I know the difference between Hebrew and Arabic writing.” Now this situation with the divinity student goes back to what I said in an earlier posting. Use common sense, let go of the ego, and don’t assume that you have to  fluent or proficient in the language of a country that you my be vacationing in. Our next stop was In Tiberias. While having a beer, a glass of wine, and eating the customary fish that Jesus feed the multitude with, the Saint Peter’s fish and bread at a restaurant on the dock on the Sea of Galilee, there was a loud booming sound, a little vibration, and the entire valley did a tilt to the right. We soon learned that a 4.2 earth quake had rocked the area, and it was the second quake to rattle the area in as many days. The Yardenit (yarden) baptism site on the  Jordan River was our last stop, and we had a long drive back to Beersheva.Now, I would like to say that I am not a show off, or think I am all of that. I like to seize the moment. While in Israel, or any country take off those rose-colored glasses, so that you will not view the country darkly. Open up a new window of the mind. Get out and about, mix and mingle and enjoy yourself. Now, here is the tour guide look at some of the best places that you should try to visit, and some of the best places to visit.
Ashdod, is the fifth-largest city in Israel, in the Southern District of the country, on the Mediterranean coast, with a population of 207,000. Ashdod is an important regional industrial center. The Port of Ashdod is Israel’s largest port accounting for 60% of the country’s imported goods. The first documented settlement in Ashdod dates to the Canaanite culture of 17th century BC, making the city one of the oldest in the world. Ashdod is mentioned thirteen times in the Bible. During its history the city was settled by Philistines, Israelites, Byzantines, Crusaders and Arabs. Modern Ashdod was established in 1956 on the sand hills near the site of the ancient town, and incorporated as a city in 1968, with a land-area of approximately 23.2 sq miles. Ancient settlement Human settlement in Ashdod dates from the Paleolithic Age Ashdod is mentioned in Ugaritic documents, the language of the ancient Canaanites. At the end of the 13th century BCE the Sea Peoples conquered and destroyed the city. By the beginning of the 12th century BCE the Philistines, generally thought to have been one of the Sea Peoples, ruled the city. During their reign, the city prospered and was a member of the Philistine pentapolis. In 950 BCE Ashdod was destroyed during Pharaoh Siamun’s conquest of the region. The city was not rebuilt until at least 815 BCE. Around 715 BCE, it was conquered by Sargon II, who destroyed the city and exiled its residents. Jewish inhabitants of Ashdod were resettled in Media after their failed uprising attempt against Assyrian dominance. The records indicate that 27,290 Jews were forced to settle in Ecbatana (Hamadan) and Susa in South West Persia. Asdûdu led the revolt of Philistines, Judeans, Edomites, and Moabites against Assyria after expulsion of king Akhimeti, whom Sargon had installed instead of his brother Azuri. Gath, (Gimtu) the city of Goliath birth belonged to the kingdom of Ashdod at that time. According to the Book of Nehemiah, the Ashdodites seem to represent the whole nation of the Philistines in the sixth century BCE. The speech of Ashdod which the younger generation of the Jews are described as adopting would simply be the general Philistine dialect. In the Book of Nehemiah, some residents of Jerusalem are said to have married women from Ashdod, and half of the children of these unions were reportedly unable to city understand Hebrew. Nehemiah 13:23-24, “they spoken the language of Ashdod.” The absorbed another blow in 605 BCE, when Nebuchadnezzar conquered it. In 539 BCE the city was rebuilt by the Persians, but was conquered in the wars of Alexander the great of Macedon. (Nehemiah 13:23).
Ashkelon or Ashqelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel just a stone throw from Gaza. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Bronze Age. In the course of its history, it has been ruled by the Canaanites, the Philistines, The Israelites, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Persians, the Egyptians, the Muslims, the British and the Crusaders. It was destroyed by the Mamluks in 1270 and fell into disuse.The modern city of Ashkelon grew out of the Arab town of al-Majdal. In 1596 it was a village of 559 Muslim households, and in 1931, 6,166 Muslims and 41 Christians were living there. By 1948, the population had grown to about 11,000. Over the years, Ashkelon grew to a population of 108,900. The proximity to the beach and peaceful locale, made it an attractive destination for young families, as well as for retiring couples.The beautiful beaches in Ashkelon still draw tourists from Israel and without.
Hebron is the largest city in the West Bank, located in the south, 18 miles south of Jerusalem. It is home to some 166,000 Palestinians and over 500 Israeli Jews living in and around the historic Jewish Quarter. Hebron is located in the Palestinian territories and the Biblical region of Judea, it is the second holiest city in Judaism, after Jerusalem. Hebron is home to Hebron University and the Palestine Polytechnic University.The most famous historic site in Hebron sits on the Cave of the Patriarchs. Although the site is holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam also accept it as a sacred site, due to scriptural references to Abraham. According to Genesis, he purchased the cave and the field surrounding it from Ephron the Hittite to bury his wife Sarah, subsequently Abraham Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah were also buried in the cave. The remaining Matriarch, Rachel, is buried outside Bethlehem. For this reason, Hebron is also referred to as ‘the City of the Patriarchs’ in Judaism, and regarded as one of its Four Holy Cities. Over and around the cave itself churches, synagogues and mosques have been built throughout history. The Isaac Hall is now the Ibrahimi Mosque, while the Abraham Hall and Jacob Hall serve as a Jewish synagogue. In medieval Christian tradition, Hebron was one of the three cities, the other two being Juttah and Ain Karim, that boasted of being the home of Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist and wife of Zacharias, and thus possibly the birthplace of the Baptist himself. The above photo is of the church that sits on the Cave of the Patriarchs, and the bottom right photo is of the inscription on the tomb of Rececca.
Sodom is were two cities in the Bible which were destroyed by God.
For the sins of their inhabitants Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim were destroyed by “brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.”[Gen 19:24-25] In Christianity and Islam, their names have become synonymous with impenitent sin, and their fall with a proverbial manifestation of God’s wrath. Qur’an(S15) Al-Hijr:72-73 Sodom and Gomorrah have been used as metaphors for vice and sexual deviation. In the photo, the standing peak or pillar is said to be Lots’ wife after she looked back upon the doomed cities, Gen 19:15-26
Tel Tzora, is a tell and Israeli archaeological site near the modern day kibbutz of the same name. It is a well-known tourist attraction regarded by many as the location of Samson’s tomb. His tomb is overlooking the Sorek valley near the Nahal Sorek or Brook of Sorek, also Soreq. The brook is one of the largest, most important drainage basins in the Judean Hills. It is mentioned in the Book of Judges 16:4 of the Bible as the border between the ancient Philistines and the Tribe of Dan of the ancient Israelites. It is known in Arabic as Wadi Surar. In the 19th century, Nahal Sorek served as an important waterway between the two major cities in the area, Jaffa and Jerusalem. Because railways at the time were reliant on water sources, several surveyors who planned the first railway in the Middle East, the Jaffa–Jerusalem line, decided to use Nahal Sorek as the main route for the line. While at that time the route was logical, when plans were made to renovate it in 2001, the digging of numerous tunnels was proposed to mainly avoid the Nahal Sorek route and shorten the line. Due in part to the opposition from the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority, this plans was never materialized, and the old route on Nahal Sorek was refurbished complete and is still in use today.While still being adjacent to the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway today, Nahal Sorek mainly serves as a tourist attraction. Several small water reservoirs exist along its route, notably near Tel Shahar and Yesodot. Waterfalls are located on several of its tributaries, including Ayanot Dekalim in Beit Shemesh, Ein Sifla on Nahal HaMe’ara.
Lod or Lydda , Peter all but lived here, according to New Testament, Acts 9:32 And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. Act 10:5-6 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side.The port of Joppa(Jaffa) is on the Mediterranean some 11 miles west of Lydda and part of the modern city of Tel Avivi. Today Lydda or Lod is located on the Sharon Plain 9 miles southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2007, it had a population of 67,000, roughly 80 percent Jewish and 20 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod. Israel’s main international airport, Ben Gurion International Airport previously called Lydda Airport, RAF Lydda, and Lod Airport is located in the city. Durning the Roman occupation In 43 CE, Cassius, the Roman governor of Syria, sold the inhabitants of Lod into slavery. During the First Jewish–Roman War, the Roman proconsul of Syria, Cestius Gallus, razed the town on his way to Jerusalem in 66 CE. It was occupied by Emperor Vespasian in 68 CE.The Crusaders occupied the city in 1099 and named it St. Jorge de Lidde. It was briefly conquered by Saladin, but retaken by the Crusaders in 1191. For the English Crusaders, it was a place of great significance as the birthplace of Saint George. A well-preserved mosaic floor dating to the Roman period was excavated in 1996 as part of a salvage dig conducted on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Municipality of Lod, prior to widening HeHalutz Street. The mosaic was covered over with soil at the conclusion of the excavation for lack of funds to conserve and develop the site.The mosaic is now part of the Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center.
Tiberias is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Lower Galilee, Israel. Tiberias was founded as a Jewish city sometime around 20 CE by Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, who made it the capital of his realm in Galilee. It was named in honor of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Since the sixteenth century, Tiberias has been considered one of Judaism’s Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron and Safed. In the 2nd-10th centuries, Tiberias was the largest Jewish city in the Galilee, and the political and religious hub of the Jews of Palestine. According to Christian tradition, Jesus performed several miracles in the Tiberias district, making it an important pilgrimage site for devout Christians. Tiberias has historically been known for its hot springs, believed to cure skin and other ailments, for thousands of years. There is a legend that Tiberias was built on the site of the biblical village of Rakkat, mentioned in the Book of Joshua. A discussion of Tiberias as Rakkat appears in the Talmud.Under the Roman Empire, the city was known by its Greek name Τιβεριάς (Tiberiás, Modern Greek Τιβεριάδα Tiveriáda). In the days of Antipas, the Jews refused to settle there; the presence of a cemetery rendered the site ritually unclean. Antipas settled predominantly non-Jews there from rural Galilee and other parts of his domains in order to populate his new capital, and Antipas furthermore built a palace on the acropolis. The prestige of Tiberias was so great that the sea of Galilee soon came to be called the sea of Tiberias.The city was governed by a city council of 600 with a committee of 10 until 44 CE when a Roman Procurator was set over the city after the death of Agrippa I. In 61 CE Agrippa II annexed the city to his kingdom whose capital was Caesarea Phillippi. During the First Jewish–Roman War Josephus Flavius took control of the city and destroyed Herod’s palace but was able to stop the city being pillaged by his Jewish army. Where most other cities in Palestine were razed, Tiberias was spared because its inhabitants remained loyal to Rome after Josephus Flavius had surrendered the city to the Roman emperor Vespasian. It became a mixed city after the fall of Jerusalem; with Judea subdued, the southern Jewish population migrated to Galilee. A 2,000 year-old Roman theatre was discovered 49` below ground near Mount Bernike in the Tiberias hills. It seated over 7,000 people. Excavations on the shore unearthed a rare coin with the image of Jesus on one side and the Greek words Jesus the Messiah King of Kings on the other. It belongs to a series of coins issued in Constantinople to commemorate the First Millennium of Jesus birth. Such coins have surfaced in neighboring countries, such as Turkey, but this is the first one found in Israel. It is believed to have been brought to Tiberias by Christian pilgrims.
Rosh Hanikra is in the northwestern corner of Israel, on the border of Israel and Lebanon. The white chalk cliffs offer a spectacular panoramic view of Haifa Bay, the hills of the Galilee and the Mediterranean.The book of Joshua (13:6) mentions “Misraphot Mayim” south of Rosh Hanikra, as the border of the Israelite tribes during the 14 -13 centuries BCE. Jewish sages referred to the cliff as “The Ladder of Tire.” The Muslim conquerors renamed the area A-Nawakir (the grottoes). The present name, Rosh Hanikra, is a hebraicized version of the Arabic Ras-A-Nakura. In ancient times, Rosh Hanikra was along the trade route between the northern civilizations in Lebanon and Syria and the southern ones in Palestine, Egypt and North Africa. The place was then known as “the Ladders of Tyre.” It has been the gateway in and out of Palestine since ancient times. In 333 Alexander the Great entered the Land of Israel through Rosh Hanikra, and is believed to have led his Greek army through a tunnel his forces dug in these cliffs. Throughout human history, Rosh HaNikra served as a passage point for trade caravans and armies between Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Egypt, and Africa. During World War II, the British dug a tunnel for the railway running between Haifa and Beirut to facilitate the movement of supplies from Egypt to the north, and for trains on what was the Cairo-Istanbul railway. Rosh Hanikra was the site where Israeli and Lebanese officials negotiated and concluded an armistice in 1949 which ended the Lebanese-Israeli component of the 1948 War of Israeli Independence.
Caesarea is a town in Israel on the outskirts of Caesarea Maritima, the ancient port city. It is located mid-way between Tel Aviv and Haifa 27 miles, on the Israeli Mediterranean coast near the city of Hadera. Modern Caesarea as of December 2007 has a population of 4,500 people, and is the only Israeli locality managed by a private organization, the Caesarea Development Corporation, and also one the most populous localities not recognized as a local council. It lies under the jurisdiction of the Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. Caesarea is believed to have been built on the ruins of Stratonospyrgos Straton’s Tower, founded by Straton I of Sidon. It was probably an agricultural storehouse in its earliest configuration. In 90 BCE, Alexander Jannaeus captured Straton’s Tower as part of his policy of developing the shipbuilding industry and enlarging the Hasmonean kingdom. Straton’s Tower remained a Jewish city for two generations, until the Roman conquest of 63 BCE when the Romans declared it an autonomous city. The pagan city underwent vast changes under Herod the Great, who renamed it Caesarea in honor of the emperor. In 22 BCE he began construction of a deep-sea harbor and built storerooms, markets, wide roads, baths, temples to Rome and Augustus, and imposing public buildings Every five years the city hosted major sports competitions, gladiator games, and theatrical productions. Caesarea also flourished during the Byzantine period. Caesarea lay in ruins until the nineteenth century when the village of Qisarya, the Arabic name for Caesarea was established in 1884 by Muslim immigrants from Bosnia who built a small fishing village on the ruins of the Crusader fortress on the coast.The kibbutz of Sdot Yam was established 1 mile south in 1940. Many of Qisarya’s inhabitants left before 1948, when a railway was built bypassing the port, ruining their livelihood. Caesarea Is mentioned in Act 10:1 “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band.”
Megiddo is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Jezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 356. It is located near the intersection between highways 65 from Hadera to Afula and 66 going from Haifa south to the West Bank, which is called the Megiddo Junction.Located near the site of the several Battles of Megiddo and Tel Megiddo, a rich archeological site. In 2005, Israeli archeologists discovered the remains of an ancient church perhaps the eldest in the Holy Land under the grounds of the military prison. Authorities are speculating about moving the prison so the site can be accessible to tourists. In apocalyptic literature, Mount Megiddo, the hill overlooking the valley where the current kibbutz is located, is identified as the site of the final battle between the forces of good and evil at the end of time, known as Armageddon.
Jericho is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate, and has a population of over 20,000 Palestinians. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route 10 miles north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently inhabited site on earth. It is also believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world. Described in the Hebrew Bible as the “City of Palm Trees”, copious springs in and around Jericho have made it an attractive site for human habitation for thousands of years.It is known in Judeo-Christian tradition as the place of the Israelites’ return from bondage in Egypt, led by Joshua, the successor to Moses. Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of over 20 successive settlements in Jericho, the first of which dates back to 11,000 years ago (9000.The first permanent settlement was built near the Ein as-Sultan spring between 8000 and 7000 BCE by an unknown people, and consisted of a number of walls, a religious shrine, and a 23-foot tower with an internal staircase. After a few centuries, it was abandoned for a second settlement, established in 6800 BCE, perhaps by an invading people who absorbed the original inhabitants into their dominant culture. Artifacts dating from this period include ten skulls, plastered and painted so as to reconstitute the individuals’ features.Theserepresent the first example of portraiture in art history, and it is thought that these were kept in people’s homes while the bodies were buried. This was followed by a succession of settlements from 4500 BCE onward, the largest of these being constructed in 2600 BCE.. Archaeological evidence indicates that in the latter half of the Middle Bronze Age.
“The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist.”
Russell Baker

On June 26,1999 I deployed with 50 air force civil engineers to Four Wings Air Base, near Cold Lake, Alberta Canada to work on a construction project for 16 days with the Canadian air force. Cold Lake, where is Cold Lake some may ask? Cold Lake is 219 miles North East of Edmonton, just touching the frozen tundra, and just south of Fort McMurray.The timing was fantastic, because it was the time of the mid-night sun, where the sun never set for six months give or take a month or two.The sun goes down to the horizon and hang there, and pop back up. However there is an appearance of darkness, well it is right at the edge of dusk dark, the evening sky turn hazy or golden as if the sun is rising. Some of the engineers sat up all night the first night there to see if the sun did set. The project OIC (Officer In Charge) and the NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge) had a problem with the element of time, they wanted to work as long as there was light, and of course there was light, twenty- four-seven. The Canadians, were gracious host, and while giving us a welcome to the base party, they went all out, there was food for days and a river of Moose Head and Labatt Beer. Since I was on my side of the big pond this time, in my front yard so-to-speak I had my daughter and one of her college classmate fly up for the middle weekend starting on June 26. This would give us five days for the 4th of July weekend. I put together a traveling plan for them, as well as myself. Thursday when the base was going to closed for the 4TH of  July weekend, I was inquiring about how I could get to Edmonton to pick them up, by bus or rental car, the Officer in charge of the motor pool told me to drive down. I laughed and said, “Drive what?” He replied, “Oh, let me get you a car, and all you have to do is keep gas in it, and don’t wreck it”. So, I had my very own personal private vehicle to see all that we could see in Alberta, Edmonton, Calgary, and many points in between. We also saw a little corner of Saskatchewan Providence. We made it to Regina and Saskatoon. I went down to Edmonton that Thursday morning to pick up my daughter and her classmate and returned back to Cold Lake. They were amazed that the sun never went down, and they were wondering how did people know when to go to bed, simple I said, “You stay up six months, and then there will be six months of darkness, or night, where the sun never come up, and you do like the bears, you sleep or hibernate until Summer.” Before we began our tour of the Canadian Rockies, the Canadian OIC of the motor pool, and the NCOIC of MWR (moral welfare and recreations) gave us some maps and  some very good advice. Leave for Edmonton early as possible and have hotel rooms, get up early and drive to Jasper National Park, and tour the Columbia Ice-Fields and take some warm clothing. You should try to make Banff National Park by mid after noon, so you can be out of the mountains by early evening in case you encounter a freak snow storm or other problems. They also suggested that we reserve hotel rooms in the town of Red Deer, which was just out of the mountains and approximately mid way between Edmonton and Calgary, because when we come out of the mountains we would have a choice of two metropolitan cities to go to.This was a wise choice because we were going to Calgary. Lastly they told us do not for any reason assume that the bears are friendly. Friday morning we began with Cold Lake, then went up to Fort McMurray, and headed for our hotel in Edmonton. We made it to Edmonton with plenty of time to see some of The West Edmonton Mall. The mall at that time was the World’s Largest Mall, a mega shopping and entertainment center. The mall had 6 I-max theaters, an indoor water-park the size of 5 Canadian football fields, with a water slide that was 85 foot tall, and you could reach the speed of 40 miles per hour as you zip down to make your splash in the wave pool. Since my daughter and her classmate would be flying back home out of Edmonton and we would have a full day there, we just did the quick look over and called it a night. We left for Jasper National Park around 6:00 A.M that Saturday morning, Jasper was awesome and the views were breath-taking. We spent about two hours in Jasper and left for the Columbia Ice-fields, and without warm clothing we would have had serious problems with the cold, because as far as the eyes could see there was ice. We then went to Lake Louise and spent an hour there and arrived in Banff by mid-after noon, where we had lunch. While eating we overheard people talking about two people who were out fishing in Jasper National Park who had a lucky escape from serious injury after they tangled with a black bear the day before. We left Banff National Park for our hotel in Red Deer about 2:30 pm,and it had started to snow. We made it to our hotel in Red Deer in a blinding, pouring rain. It was raining cats, dogs, and a few frogs. We rushed into the hotel lobby like wet rats. Sunday Morning, July 4 Th, while having breakfast and reading the Edmonton “Sunday Sun” news paper with my orange juice and coffee, I was shocked to read that the road out of the Canadian Rockies via Banff and Jasper National Parks were closed Saturday evening because of snow, 9″ of snow  fell. The headline was “Winter Comes Early” by Mark Cooper, staff writer. The story said in part, “Singing the blues because you’re caught in the rain in Edmonton this weekend? Well, change your tune, ’cause they’re belting out Christmas carols in the Rockies. A freak snowstorm in the providence’s mountain parks yesterday caused highway closures and left tourist wondering whether they were on summer or Christmas vacation. Scottish tourist Richard Castro was on of several hundred motorists stranded on Highway 93 yesterday when 25 cm of snow blanketed the road between Jasper and Banff. The road was also closes from Saskatchewan Crossing to Lake Louise. Castro was strongly advised to turn back.”  Now, you see why it is wise to consult with the locals before you get out on your own, and watch the weather. Had we not taken the advice that was given us, we could have frozen on the ice field, been trying to feed the bears some bread, and became their meat. The bear would have been saying this is our lucky day, we got bread and meat. Worse still, we could have been in that  number stranded in the Rockies. We left Red deer for Calgary, Regina, and Saskatoon. If by chance the opportunity knocks on your door for a road trip in the Canadian Rockies, let it in and enjoy yourself. If you do go to Canada, or anywhere abroad, make sure that your travel documents are in order and correct, and make sure there is not an airport or country departure fee. At that time, for my daughter and her friend to enter Canada they did not need a passport, and they checked as well as my self with the Canadian Embassy, and the US State Department and all was good to go; however when they tried to leave problems occurred. They could not prove that there were Americans citizen nor Canadians, their American driver licenses or college ID were not good enough, also they did not have Canadian small bills on hand to pay the $10.00 departure fee.They had just converted their Canadian currency back to American. The gate agent told them that they were going to deport them. My daughter and her friend who were getting frustrated, so they said, “Sure deport us back to Atlanta, Georgia.” However, they could not leave because they did not have the $10.00 cash, and American currency or credit cards were not accepted.  At last by chance a flight attendant came up and resolved the issue, by asking them did they enjoy Canada, and said that she would pay the departure fee, and that my daughter and friend had come up on her previous flight, and was booked on her departure flight. If I had known there was going to be problems, I would not have let them out and the door. I would have gone down to the gate with them.However I had to get to back to Cold Lake. Bottom line know before you go. Now let me give you the tour book version of what to see and or do:
Cold Lake: Cold Lake is a large lake in Northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. The lake straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, and has a water area of 144 sq mi. It is also one of the deepest lakes in Alberta with a maximum depth of 325.1 ft. It has around 24 known species of fish in it and is a major ice fishing lake. It is also major stop for many migrating birds. A surface area of 96 sq mi lies in the province of Alberta. The city of Cold Lake is located on the shore. Excepting the western shore, the lake is surrounded by protected areas such as the Cold Lake Provincial Park in Alberta and the Meadow Lake Provincial Park in Saskatchewan. The Cold Lake 149 A and B indian reserve of the Cold Lake First Nations are established on the western and southern shores respectively.
West Edmonton Mall: (WEM), West Edmonton Mall located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is the largest shopping mall in North America and the fifth largest in the world, founded by Ghermezian brothers who emigrated from Iran in 1959. It was the world’s largest mall for a 23 year period from 1981 until 2004. There are over 800 stores and services and parking for more than 20,000 vehicles. More than 23,000 people are employed at the property. The mall receives 28.2 million visitors per year and150,000 shoppers daily depending on the day and season. The mall’s amusement park was originally called Fantasyland, until The Walt Disney Company took the mall to court, claiming ownership of the name, which is a themed area found at its Disneyland-style theme parks around the world. WEM lost and subsequently renamed the attraction Galaxyland. Since the name change, they introduced the mall’s mascot Cosmo who is the basis for several rides in Galaxyland. The amusement park is located in what used to be referred to as Phase One, although it stretches into the former Phase II. However, the mall was allowed to retain the name Fantasyland Hotel for its on-site hotel.
The Columbia Icefield: The Columbia Icefield is an icefield located in the Canadian Rockies, astride the Continental Divide of North America. The icefield lies partly in the northwestern tip of Banff and the southern end of Jasper National Park. It is about 328′ to 1,197′ in-depth and receives up to 23 ft of snowfall per year. Part of the icefield, the Athabasca Glacier, is visible from the Icefields Parkway. The Athabasca Glacier has receded significantly since its greatest modern-era extent in 1844. During the summer months visitors to the area can travel onto the glacier in the comfort of large “snowcoaches”. The icefield was first reported in 1898 by J. Norman Collie and Hermann Woolley after they had completed the first ascent of
Mount Athabasca.The Athabasca River and the North Saskatchewan River originate in the Columbia Icefield, as do tributary headwaters of the Columbia River. As the icefield is atop a triple Continental Divide these waters flow ultimately north to the Arctic Ocean, east to Hudson Bay and then to the North Atlantic Ocean, and south and west to the Pacific Ocean. The Hudson Bay, in some watershed divisions, is considered to be in the Arctic watershed, in which case this would arguably not
be a triple continental divide point.The icefield feeds eight major glaciers, including:
Athabasca Glacier
Castleguard Glacier
Columbia Glacier
Dome Glacier
Stutfield Glacier
Saskatchewan Glacier
Jasper National Park: Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, spanning 4200 square miles. It is located in the province of Alberta, to the north of Banff National Park and west of the city of Edmonton. The park includes the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield, hot springs, lakes, waterfalls and, of course, mountains. Wildlife in the park includes elk, caribou, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, grizzly bear, black bear, beaver, Rocky Mountain pika, hoary marmort , gray wolf, mountain lion, and wolverine. Jasper was named after Jasper Hawes, who operated a trading post in the region for the North West Company. Before this it was referred to as Fitzhugh. The park was established on September 14, 1907 as Jasper Forest Park, and was granted national park status in 1930, with the passing of the National Parks Act. In 2006, Jasper National Park had 1,988,600 visitors.
Banff: Banff is the largest town in Banff National Park, in Alberta’s Rockies, Canada. It is also the first incorporated municipality located within a national park in Canada. At 4,800 ft, it is the town with the highest elevation inCanada. It is surrounded by mountains, notably Mount Rundle, Sulphur Mountain, Mount Norquay, and Cascade Mountain; and situated above Bow Falls near the junction of the Bow and Spray Rivers. Banff is located 78 miles west of Calgary and 36 miles east of Lake Louise, on the Trans-Canada Highway. Banff is a resort town and one of Canada’s most popular tourist destinations, known for its mountainous surroundings and hot springs. It is a major destination for outdoor sports and features extensive hiking, biking, scrambling and skiing areas within the region.
Lake Louise: Lake Louise is a lake in Alberta, Canada. The glacial lake is located in Banff National Park,3 mile from the hamlet of Lake Louise and the Trans-Canada Highway. Lake Louise is named after the Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and the wife of the Marquess of Lorne, who was the Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. The emerald colour of the water comes from rock flour carried into the lake by melt-water from the glaciers that overlook the lake. The lake has a surface of 0.3 sq mile. The eastern shore of the lake is dominated by Chateau Lake Louise, one of Canada’s grand railway hotels, a luxury resort hotel built-in the early decades of the 20th century by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Moraine Lake and Lake Agnes are also accessible from Lake Louise.
Saskatoon: Saskatoon is a city located in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South  SaskatchewanRiver. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. Saskatoon is the most populous city in the province of Saskatchewan, and has been since the mid-1980s when it surpassed the provincial capital of Regina. The city had a population of 202,340 in the Canada 2006 Census, with a civic estimate of 218,000 in 2009. The name Saskatoon [in Cree: sâskwatôn, "Saskatoon" or the locatives: misâskwatôminihk, lit: "at the saskatoon berry", misâskwatôminiskâhk, "at the place of many saskatoon berries", mînisihk "at the berry"] comes from the Cree inanimate noun misâskwatômina ”saskatoon berries”, which refers to the sweet, violet-coloured berry that grows in the area. It is also popularly described as the “Bridge City,” for its seven river crossings.
Fort McMurray: Before the arrival of Europeans in the late 18th Century, the Cree were the dominant First Nations people in the Fort McMurray area. The oil sands were known to the locals and the surface deposits were actually used to waterproof their canoes. In 1778, the first of the European explorers, Peter Pond, came to the region in search of furs as the European demand for this commodity at the time was strong. Peter Pond explored the region further south along the Athabasca River and the Clearwater River, but chose to set up a trading post much farther north by the Athabasca River near Lake Athabasca. However, his post closed in 1788 in favour of Fort Chipewyan, now the oldest continuous settlement in Alberta. In 1790, the explorer Alexander MacKenzie made the first recorded description of the oil sands. By that time, trading between the explorers and the Cree was already occurring at the confluence of the Clearwater and Athabasca Rivers. The Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company were in fierce competition in this region. Fort McMurray was established there as a Hudson’s Bay Company post by 1870, and continued to operate as a transportation stopover in the decades.
Edmonton: Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The city is located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies. It is the second largest city in Alberta after Calgary, and is the hub of Canada’s sixth-largest census metropolitan area.the City of Edmonton covers an area larger than Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, or Montreal. Edmonton has one of the lowest urban population densities in North America, about 9.4% that of New York City. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian. Edmonton serves as the northern anchor of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor. Edmonton is one of four regions that together comprise 50% of Canada’s population and is a staging point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta and large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories. Edmonton is Canada’s second most populous provincial capital (after Toronto) and is a cultural, governmental and educational centre. It plays host to a year-round slate of world-class festivals, earning it the title of “The Festival City. It is home to North America’s largest mall, West Edmonton Mall (which was the world’s largest mall for a 23 year period from 1981 until 2004, and Fort Edmonton Park, Canada’s largest living history museum.
Cree Nation: The Cree is one of the largest group of First Nations/Aboriginals in North America, located mainly across Canada.[1] In the United States, this Algonquian-speaking people lived historically from Minnesota westward. Today they live mostly in Montana. Though at one time located in northern Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana, today the Cree population in the United States can be found as part of the Chippewa Cree tribe, located on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation in Montana. The reservation is shared with the Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians who form the “Chippewa” half of the Chippewa Cree tribe. Traditionally, the southern limits of the Cree Territory in the United States were the Missouri River and the Milk River in Montana.
The man who goes out alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.
Author: Henry David Thoreau

Tower Of London

On July 25,1997 I arrived at RAF Mildenhall, England,(British UK) with a cadre of 35 air force members for a 30 day deployment to RAF Machrihanish near Campbeltown, Scotland. This was my third trip to England, but this time I did not have the opportunity to go up to Oxford, Bath, Liverpool, Nottingham, Stratford-Upon-Avon, or Birmingham, but I did make the rounds in Cambridge, Ipswich, Norwich, Bury St.. Edmunds, Historic Ely, capital of the Fens, Historic Lavenham, and of course what is a trip to England without going to London, which I did. I made it down to Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, and paid a visit to the queen at Buckingham Palace, but she wasn’t in residence. I found England still very vibrant, even more historic, and full of life, even if it is laid back, relaxed, and conservative. I will write about my England adventure later, for now let me tell you about Scotland. I left RAF Mildenhall on August 1, for RAF Machrihanish, which was about three miles from Campbelton. I found Machrihanish, Campbeltown, and the Argylly region to be quaint, rustic, and as if time had stood still. The people were very warm and friendly. Shortly after I checked into billeting at RAF Machrihanish I went to Campbelton with a fellow cadre member who wanted to purchase the best single malt scotch whiskey in the area. I told him that in the Campbeltown area all of the scotch whiskey was single malt, and it is known as whisky. The first spirit shop that he saw, Victoria’s, he walked in and asked for the best single malt scotch whiskey, and was quickly informed by the lady behind the counter that it is whisky, here, and put a very old and rare 21-year-old Springbank scotch on the counter with a $500.00 price tag. It did not take him long to come down to a price that his pocket could afford, $50.00. She asked me to taste a sample, and I told the shop keeper, as it turned out was the shop owner, very politely that I was not buying and that I really did not drink, I was just with the other person. She insisted that I should try a shot of rare scotch. I told her that I was not an aficionado or connoisseur of fine whisky, and where I came from in the Mississippi Delta a rare whiskey(whisky), was a mason fruit jar of moonshine or corn whiskey that made it from Friday evening to Monday morning, if it was a week old, it was way too old. She laughed, and sat a bottle of coke, seven-up,and a pitcher or water on the counter and poured me a shot or rare Jura, then a Spingbank. Since I was too well raised to refuse such good hospitality, I took her up on her hospitable offer. She was amazed that I did not want a chaser and preferred my drink neat. I told her if I was going to drink a shot of whisky from a bottle that cost $500.00 I wanted to feel the fire as it burned its way down, and taste the malt. She was impressed that I could detect the subtle nuisances or differences in the ages and brands, and I ended up having 16 shots when I lost count. I walked out the shop feeling no pain, walking on clouds wondering who had turned out the lights. I was two shots away from being knee crawling and commode hugging drunk, just on the brink of feeling ten foot tall and bullet proof.  After a little nap, some up-chucking, an anti acid or two, and a cold shower I was good to go for the rest of the day. Long story short, that evening I met Fiona, a pub owner. She said let me give you a basic education about the country, First, Whiskey is your American Jack Daniels or Jim Beam. Scotch is the whisky here, and we are Scots not scotch, now give me a hug and have a seat and name your poison. Because I had crashed and burned earlier, I ordered a Virgin Mary, or Pine Float, that is a glass of water on the rocks with a tooth pick floating on the water with a lemon and lime twist, which are my usual drinks of choice when I am out on the town. Fiona then introduced me to the pub crawl. We left her pub and went to another pub for a drink, then the owner of that pub, Fiona and myself left for another pub, in a short time I was in the company of 20 or more pub and business owners. The pub crawl is, if you have not guessed by now, is going from pub to pub and drinking until you have to crawl, or find yourself pasted on the side walks and could not crawl. My fellow cadre member did not make the crawl because all he could drink was Budweiser, and that was an import and was hitting him $7.50 a can, while the local or regional brews were 75 cent to a $1.50 for a pint or boot. When the pubs closed and it was time to go home or the hotel, Fiona asked me to come by and knock her up for breakfast. “Wait, what knock you up?” I asked in amazement, because I was caught off guard. “No, silly, come by and wake me up”, she said. One of her friends said that they would knock her up. The next morning I met up with Fiona and several of her friends for breakfast at a quaint little restaurant/dinner on the wharf overlooking the harbour. Since I had survived the pub crawl , Fiona and her friends decided to make me an honorary Scotsman, I had to try haggis. Whew, that was an ordeal.Then one of Fiona’s friends leaned over and asked me if I wanna (bang her) banger, as if I would not catch the joke, sure I did wanna banger after the ordeal I had with the haggis. A banger with mash, eggs, scones, a spot of black tea, and orange juice made my morning. Then it was out in the country side. We went upon a hill where we could look down on Paul McCartney home and farm. From there we went to the Mull of Kintyre where we could look across the 12-15 mile wide North Channel of the Irish Sea and gaze upon the North coast of the Emerald Isle, Ireland. There was a ferry from Campbeltown, to Ballycastle, County Antrim, Ireland, and Fiona was very persistence and very insistence that we catch the ferry across, and we did not have to get off the ferry, but I had my dreads. We went to a pub in Drummore and Campletown where Paul McCartney son would sometimes sit in and play with the local bands. We even went over to the historic ST. Andrews Golf Course, then to Castle Douglas, Inveraray Castle, and the town of Dumfries. One Friday evening I left with the head chef at RAF Machrihanish to spend the night in Glasgow, so that we could go over to Edinburgh and Inverness. Now, I thought riding with Fiona in a match box car with the steering wheel on the wrong side, with a stick shift, and driving on the wrong side of the road, which Fiona said was the right side to be on, as she made hair pin turns as death-defying. The chef, beat her hands down. I aged about ten years before I made it to Glasgow, but the sights were worth all of my teeth clenching and butt cheek pinching. In Glasgow I had a chance to see Newark Castle, Kelburn Castle, and the ruins of Bishop’s Castle. I also saw Edinburgh Castle, and Castle Inverness. My fee, or the charge for the chef and Fiona taking me around Scotland and being my personal tour guide was send back some music, especially, Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty, Clint Black, and Country Charlie Pride. I promptly sent them the music when I got back home and I stayed in touch with Fiona and the pub owner in Drummore for a few years. If you have a chance to visit Scotland, I would strongly suggest that you get away from the metropolitan centers such as Glasgow, Inverness, and Edinburgh, and spend some time in the Argyll and the Mull Of Kintyre region, especially Campbeltown. Now here are a few of the sights that I saw or places that I went from a tour book perspective:. ……
Campbeltown: Is at the head of a deep loch, sheltered by Davaar Island and surrounding hills. Campbeltown lies at the eastern end of the only low-lying part of Kintyre, and is one of the largest towns in Argylly. Its heyday was in the Victorian era with its thriving shipbuilding, fishing and whisky industries. Today only three distilleries are in production. The best known is Springbank Distillery, which provides a unique insight into a distillery which undertakes 100% of the process in-house. Campbeltown is traditionally one of the few communities in the Scottish Highlands where the Scots language has predominated, rather than the previously widespread Scottish Gaelic. This was due to the plantation of lowland merchants to the burgh in the Middle Ages. Today the English language, in the form of the Scottish English dialect, is the predominant language in the town.the western end being occupied by Machrihanish, and its airfield, which boasts one of the longest runways in Europe, and provides air services to Glasgow. Meanwhile, Machrihanish, itself, five miles west of Campbeltown is increasingly making a name as an internationally important golfing destination. A popular day trip from Campbeltown is to Davaar Island, accessible from the mainland only at low tide by means of a peculiar dog-leg stretch of shingle. The island is uninhabited, save for sheep, and its main attraction is a cave painting of the Crucifixion secretly produced by a local artist in the late 1800s.
Inverary Castle: a beautiful castle in a Royal Burgh and a hereditary seat and headquarters for centuries of the most consistently powerful, if by no means popular clan in Scotland, the Clan Campbell, Dukes of Argyll. Inveraray is located on the western shore of Loch Fyne near its head. It is the traditional county town of Argyll and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll, who founded the town in 1745, alongside his new dwelling, Inveraray Castle. Its distinctive white buildings on the loch shore make it photogenic and it is a popular tourist destination, with a number of attractions in addition to the castle.
The Mull Of Kintyre: is at the extreme south tip of the Kintyre peninsula, Western Scotland. It is about 8 miles beyond the southernmost village of the peninsula, South end, and reached via a single track road. Both Ailsa Craig and the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland and Rathlin Island are clearly visible from the Mull, on clear days it is also possible to make out Malin Head in the Republic of Ireland, County Donegal, and the Ayrshire coast on the other side of Ailsa Craig. The Straits of Moyle (part of the North Channel) allow sea passage from the Irish Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Notoriously strong currents plague the tip of the Kintyrean Penninsula, prohibiting swimmers and creating a hazard to unmotorised craft. At its closest point, mainland Northern Ireland is only 12 miles from the Mull. Due to the low-lying level of Rathlin Island and the high elevation of the Mull of Kintyre it is also possible to see over the top of Rathlin Island and on towards the Antrim coastal town of Ballycastle. Visitors to the Mull may also see the individual houses of the Antrim coast and the cars travelling along the coast-road without the aid of binoculars, although this is dependent on having very good visibility, the area often being plagued with sea-mists. This unique closeness of lands makes the area one of the only two places in the British Isles where Britain and Ireland can be viewed simultaneously; the other being Mount Snaefell on the Isle of Man. The steep sides rising out of the sea on all sides have made the area a hazard to flight. The remains of a number of Second World War planes litter the area.
ST. Andrews: The club’s origins lie in the creation of the Society of St Andrews Golfers by 22 Noblemen and Gentlemen of the Kingdom of Fife in 1754. Under the names of the 22 founders, the first written account reads: “The Noblemen and Gentlemen above named being admired of the Ancient and healthful exercise of the Golf, and at the same time having the interest and prosperity of the ancient city of St Andrews at heart, being the Alma Mater of the Golf, did in the year of our Lord 1754 contribute for a Silver club having a St. Andrew engraved on the head thereof to be played for on the Links of St. Andrews upon the fourteenth day of May said year, and yearly in time coming subject to the conditions and regulations following.” In 1834, King William IV conferred his patronage on the Society of St Andrews Golfers, giving them the title of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. Agreement was later reached with the Union Club to use their premises overlooking the golf course, and later the two clubs merged. The imposing clubhouse which, in much extended and modified form, stands sentinel behind the first tee of the Old Course today, was built-in 1854.
Inverness-Scottish Gaelic: is a city in northern Scotland. The city is
the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is promoted as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland. The city lies near the site of the eighteenth century Battle of Culloden and at the beginning of the Great Glen, where the River Ness enters the Inverness/Moraye Firth making it a natural hub for various transport links. It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom. A settlement was established by the sixth century AD with the first royal charter being granted by King David I in the twelfth century.
Edinburgh-Scottish Gaelic: is the capital city of Scotland and is the
seat of the Scottish Parliament. It is the second largest city in Scotland and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The city was one of the major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, earning it the nickname Athens of the North.The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland’s 32 local government council areas. Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea. Owing to its spectacular, rugged setting and vast collection of Medieval and Georgian architecture, including numerous stone tenements, it is often considered one of the most picturesque cities in Europe. The city forms part of the City of Edinburgh council area; the city council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30-square-mile rural area. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city.
Newark Castle: is a well-preserved castle sited on the south shore of  the estuary of the River Clyde in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland, where the firth gradually narrows from the Firth of Clyde and navigation upriver is made difficult by shifting sandbanks. For centuries this location was used to offload seagoing ships, and led to the growth of Port Glasgow close to the castle on either side and to the south. When dredging techniques made the Clyde navigable as far as Glasgow the port became a shipbuilding centre, and the castle was surrounded by shipyards. The last shipyard on the lower Clyde stands close to the west of the castle, but the shipyards to the east were removed around the 1980s and new landscaped areas formed to the east of Newark Castle, opening up scenic views of the castle and across the Clyde from a new bypass road.
Ballycastle: is a small rural seaside town placed on the most north-easterly tip of county Antrim, Northern Ireland surrounded with breath-taking beauty and steeped in cultural history. Ballycastle is best known for the ‘Ould Lammas Fair’, probably the largest of its kind in Ireland with its ‘dulse’ and ‘yellowman’. Ballycastle is the perfect central location from which to organise day trips. Go west along the Causeway coast to Kinbane, Carrickarede Ropebridge, Ballintoy, Dunseverick, Portbraddon, the Giant’s Causeway, the Bushmills Distillery. Go east through the Glens of Antrim to Cushendall, Cushendun, Glenariff, Glenann, Glencorp, Glenballyeamon, Glendun, Glenarm. Go north to Mull of Kintyre, Fairhead, Murlough Bay, Rathlin Island to enjoy some true wildlife, fishing and diving or just enjoy the warmth of the town and its people. Ballycastle is the ideal holiday destination for the family or explorer with a variety of activities and accommodation to suit the weekend break or summer holiday. If you are using Ballycastle as a base, there are many exciting sights in the locality to experience. The famous Giant’s Causeway , Bushmills Distillery and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge are all less than 10 miles from Ballycastle. Towering above the town itself, is Knocklayde Mountain which can be seen for miles around. On the side of this mountain you will find Ballycastle Forest which has two entrances and whose peace can be enjoyed while having a picnic or a stroll. Fifteen miles across the Irish Sea, you may well be able to see the Mull of Kintyre, a fifteen mile long peninsula at the narrowest stretch of water between Scotland and Ireland.
ISLE OF JURA –Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Diurachs, as the islanders of Jura are known, possess an 8,000 year-long and fascinating history of myths, legends, unusual ways and, on occasion, the inexplicable. From a seer who predicted the demise of the island’s ruling clan, to the savage yet beguiling beauty of the island and its remoteness, there’s many a tale to get the conversation flowing over a dram or two of the finest of malts. The photo is of the isle of Davaar.
Islay: A Scottish island, known as “The Queen of the Hebrides” is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides. It lies in Argyll just to the west of Jura and around 25 miles north of the Irish coast, which can be seen on a clear day. In Gaelic a native of Islay is called an Ìleach, pronounced , and the plural is Ìlich: Scottish Gaelic is spoken by about a third of the population.The island’s capital is Bowmore, famous for its distillery and distinctive round Kilarrow Parish Church. Port Ellen is the largest settlement. Islay is the fifth largest Scottish island and the sixth largest island surrounding Britain. Islay has just over three thousand inhabitants. It has a total area of almost 620 square kilometres (239 sq mi). Its main industries are malt whisky distilling, and tourism largely based on whisky and birdwatching.
Springbank Distillery: It is unique because it is the oldest independent family owned distillery in Scotland. Founded in 1828 on the site of Archibald Mitchell’s illicit still, the Springbank Distillery is now in the hands of his great-great grandson, Hedley G. Wright. It is the only distillery in Scotland to carry out the full production process on the one site. 100% of the traditional floor malting, maturation and bottling is done at the distillery in Campbeltown. The Distillery produces the most hand made whisky in Scotland, with traditional production methods being used throughout the process, and human involvement at each and every stage. It is the only distillery in Scotland to have never chill-filtered, nor do we add any artificial colourings to any of our single malts. It is also the only distillery in Scotland to produce three different single malts, Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn, using three different production methods. For most of the 17th and 18th century, Campbeltown was a prominent smuggling centre. Following the Excise Act of 1823, taxes were reduced to such an extent that legal distilling at last became competitive against smuggling. This really was the beginning of the golden years for Campbeltown distillers, who hastily began applying for licences. Campbeltown saw a total of 34 distilleries established during the boom of the 19th century and subsequently became known as “Whisky Capital of the World.”
The Bishop’s Castle: Also known as Glasgow Castle, was a medieval
castle in Glasgow, Scotland. It served as the residence of the bishops and archbishops of Glasgow Cathedral until the Reformation, when the last Catholic archbishop, James Beaton, fled to France in about 1560. The castle was completely destroyed in the late 18th century, to make way for the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. The origins of the castle are unclear, but the first development was probably in the 12th century. It was recorded as a royal fortess in the mid 13th century. It had become an episcopal residence by the time of the Wars of Scottish Independence, when William Wallace recaptured the castle from the English in 1296. In 1301 the castle was garrisoned again by Edward I. In the 15th century a 5-storey keep was built by Bishop Cameron, this was later extended with additional fortifications and buildings, constructed by later bishops. Archbishop Beaton added a large corner tower, and Archbishop Dunbar built a round-towered gatehouse in 1544. The central keep served as the residence of the bishop, and was called the Bishop’s Palace. The castle played a role in the many political battles during the 16th century, including the protracted struggle between supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots and her enemies. It changed hands six times between 1513 and 1568, and was occupied by French troops at one point.The castle fell into disrepair during the 17th century, despite an attempt at repair by Archbishop Ross in the 1680s and was gradually dismantled for its stone. It was finally demolished completely in 1789, to make way for the construction of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Foundations of the castle were discovered during excavations for the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Artin the 1980s. The base of the corner tower and curtain walls were uncovered. A stone from the castle, with a modern plaque, is located in Cathedral Square, marking the location of the keep. Shown in the photos above are the Baroness of Scotland, and the Baroness-Attorney General of Scotland.
“The open road is a beckoning, a strangeness, a place where a man can lose himself.” –William Least Heat Moon