Author Archives: Sparky
Carnival Venezia Day 4 – Roatan Honduras
I like Roatan. It is a pretty, laid-back island with some nice beaches. But we had no interest in an excursion of any kind, so we, after the usual breakfast, got off the ship and wandered about the cruise port area a bit. We shopped but bought nothing. We reboarded in time for lunch then … Continue reading
Carnival Venezia Day 3 – At sea
I mentioned that Marlene was up all night, playing slots. I should also mention that while I was in the casino I consumed 2 Funship Specials and 2 Long Island Ice Teas – all VERY strong. I didn’t feel all that tipsy when I went to bed at 3am but I was pretty hung over … Continue reading
Carnival Venezia Day 2 – At sea
The day started, as it usually does, with breakfast. Then some trivia where I teamed up with 4 other passengers for General Knowledge, then Big Bang Theory. We did well – 17 and 14 correct, out of 20 – but did not win. Marlene went to Guest Services at the start of the trivia to … Continue reading
Carnival Venezia Day 1 – Embarkation
We started the auto trek to Port Canaveral just a few minutes later than planned – about 8:45am – and arrived at the parking lot exactly on time at noon. We packed well except that we once again forgot the sign that we use to mark our cabin. It was in the bag with the … Continue reading
Carnival Venezia cruise – preview
Marlene and I have 4 cruises booked for 2025. Tomorrow we embark on the first and shortest of the four – a mere 7 days. It is on the Carnival Venezia, a new ship for both of us. This is a sister ship of the Carnival Luminosa which we took across the Pacific Ocean a … Continue reading
“Promise Me” by Harlan Coben
Copyright 2006 by Harlan Coben, published Signet, a division of Penguin Books Ltd, London. I like Harlan Coben’s books. This is the 12th Coben book I have reviewed and I may have read a few that I didn’t review. All have been good. Some have been spectacularly good. This one is nearly spectacularly good. Coben … Continue reading
Fort Myers Seafood Festival 2025
The Fort Myers Seafood Festival is an annual event. We went last year and went Saturday afternoon this year (it is a 3-day festival). The food is great, but overpriced. The music is terrific and free. We go for the music. Two of our favorite groups – Memphis Lightning and Deb and the Dynamics – … Continue reading
Welcoming 2025
Marlene and I had our third New Year’s Eve and, for the third time, went out dancing. This time, like last year, we went to the Eagles Club. The band was better this year – The Unforgiven – but not many people were dancing. Not a problem for us. We don’t mind showing off on … Continue reading
“Christmas in a Jugular Vein” by David Benjamin
Copyright 2024 by David Benjamin. Published by Last Kid Books, Madison WI. David Benjamin, one of my oldest and best friends is a very imaginative writer with a keen sense of the absurd. He is a master of the short essay. He calls them “screeds” which isn’t fair to him as the term implies an … Continue reading
A Florida low
It might be a meteorological low that is responsible, but what I mean is that the weather in Fort Myers this week – or this entire month, for that matter – is the worst I have ever seen since arriving in Florida over 10 years ago. And I have been through 5 hurricanes and 2 … Continue reading »