From August 21st to Sept 5th I traveled the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers via American Heritage Sternwheeler from Pittsburgh to St Louis. I found three geocaches and one Earthcache in Madison, Indiana with Kelly Knight, a local geocacher and the owner of the caches.
I will write more about my travels later.
I left Portland, Oregon early Sunday morning June 14, arriving Chicago, IL a little after 1:00pm. I checked into the Courtyard by Marriott Chicago Downtown. On Monday afternoon I checked in with the Group Leader in the Hotel Lobby. There are only 15 people on this tour!
On Tuesday June 16, I went on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan Cruise, found an Earthcache on the Michigan Avenue Bridge and took a Lyft back to the hotel.
On Wednesday June 17 we departed for St Louis. I chose to find the Earthcache at the nearby Basilica of Saint Louis King rather than visit the Gateway (Arch) Museum.
On Thursday June 18, we departed for Nashville, TN. We stopped briefly in Paducah, KY. Lunch/Ice Cream.
On Friday June 19, we went on a City Tour of Nashville. I toured RCA Studio B and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. I found the nearby Virtual, directly across the street from the park. I skipped the Grand Old Opry Performance in the evening.
On Saturday June 20, we departed for Memphis, TN. We stopped briefly at Tina Turner Museum. We visited the National Civil Rights Site (Virtual) where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. We visited The Peabody Memphis Hotel Lobby and the ducks marble "Royal Duck Palace" on the rooftop.
On Sunday June 21, we departed for Graceland. I toured the Mansion and saw the Meditation Garden where Elvis and family were buried. I had a delicious lunch at Gladys' Diner. We departed Graceland at 2:00pm.
On Monday June 22, we departed hotel for B.B. King Museum and New Orleans.
On Tuesday June 23, we had a morning city tour including St Louis Cemetery No. 3. I took the Swamp and Bayou Tour from 12:30 or so to about 5:00pm. We were near Jean Lafitte. We cruised down bayous with moss-draped cypress trees. I saw a white Heron, large turtle sunning on a log and several alligators. Many of the alligators ate marshmallows from a long red stick held by the boat operator.
On Wednesday June 24, I thought about visiting Baton Rouge but it was way too hot and humid. I found the Virtual at Jackson Square/St Louis Cathedral, took the City of St Louis Steamboat 75-Minute Sightseeing Cruise at 12:30 pm - 2:15 pm, ate lunch and rode a Nola Pedicab to the St Charles Streetcar stop on Canal Street. I rode the Streetcar to the end of the line and back.
On Thursday morning June 25, I saw a Demo at New Orleans School of Cooking: Corn & Crab Bisque, Shrimp Creole, Bananas Foster, Pralines, a Biscuit with Molasses and two glasses of Lemonade. I took a Lyft back to the hotel to get my luggage and then to the airport. I left New Orleans for Portland, Oregon via Seattle late afternoon, arriving around 11:00pm. Raining. It was good to be home.
I found three Virtuals and two Earthcaches during the tour.
Obama was notable for delivering comedic, well-received speeches. In 2011, he famously roasted Donald Trump who attended the dinner. Donald Trump did not attend any White House Correspondents' Dinners following the roasting during his time in office, breaking a long-standing tradition of presidential attendance.
A president who relishes attacking the news media is set to break his boycott of the White House Correspondents' Association black-tie dinner celebrating the news media on Saturday evening, April 25, 2026. What could possibly go wrong?
Even if I had felt well there was really not anything that interested me in Maui except possibly the Road Trip to Hana. The August 2023 wildfires in Maui devastated the historic town of Lahaina, destroying iconic, centuries-old landmarks, cultural sites, and popular tourist spots. Key losses included the landmark 150-year-old Banyon Tree (hopes it may still be saved), the 1834/1835 Baldwin House Museum, the Wo Hing Temple, historic 1823 Waiola Church, and The Pioneer Inn (1901). The Old Lahaina Courthouse (1860) roof was completely destroyed. It stands in the heavily damaged Lahaina Banyan Court Park. The Lahaina Heritage Museum and its collection were also destroyed. The town was completely blocked to traffic.
If I return to the Hawaiian Islands I will take the 13-day Globus Tour. Big Mistake taking the cheaper 10-day Cosmos Tour.
From Jan 21 to Feb. 1, 2026 I island hopped on a Cosmos Tour from Oahu (saw the USS Arizona Memorial Site from afar, brief orientation tour of Honolulu, hosted a Geocaching Event at Starbucks, and had British Afternoon Tea) to Hawaii Big Island (Volcanoes Nat'l Park/Kilauea Crater, Black Sand Beach, Punaluu Bake Shop and Kailua-Kona) to the "Garden Isle" of Kauai (Waimea Canyon, Spouting Horn and Kapa'a) to Maui (two scoops of ice cream at Roselani in Paia Town, visited Iao Valley to view the Iao Needle pinnacle and watched "Below Deck" all day on television). The last three days of the trip were a complete and utter disaster beginning with my checking in at the Outrigger Kaanapali Beach Resort in Lahaina. It will take me several weeks to recover my health.
Rose Red is my Geocaching name. Geocaching name was not taken from "The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer - My Life at Rose Red" ghost written by Ridley Pearson nor from Stephen King's television drama, "Rose Red." Geocaching name Rose Red was taken from the Brothers Grimm story of "Snow-white and Rose-red."
