Tagged With "California Sea Lions"
Comment
Re: 'Flying Dutchman' ends 15-week cruise
UPDATE: Home at last... Costa Deliziosa finally docked in Genoa, Italy around noon today, New York time after being at sea since January 5th. It was the last major cruise line ship still at sea, and has no known Covid-19 cases on board. Debarcation of the remaining 1519 passengers and 898 crew will take several days as Costa and Italian authorities work on how to get them home without exposure to infection.
Comment
Re: Trabzon, Turkey: Ancient History, Modern Life
Excellent coverage of a Black Sea treasure. Enjoyed the photos and your superb recommendations on this visit.
Comment
Re: Mission San Juan Capistrano, California
Rob, can you tell us what we're seeing in the last photo? PS: I love your layout seeing it on my desktop computer. A small phone screen doesn't do it justice.
Comment
Re: Swimming with Galápagos Sea Lions (S. America, pt 2)
What a fun adventure! I had no idea sea lions had such a sexist culture. Thanks, Kirsten.
Comment
Re: Hurricane cancels hundreds of flights, cruises
The causeway from Miami down to Key West is just above sea level. Even a few feet would damage the roadway. I'm sure Rob will be OK. Someone will take him in and feed him ! (only joking Rob)
Comment
Re: EU moves to ban single-use plastics
Just another example of the European Parliament wasting my taxes on a Worldwide problem. The 25% of plastic waste is a good clue to the origin of the problem. Shipping. Cruise ships, cargo ships and container carriers have a choice to make. Pay to have the trash removed in port. Or dump it at sea while they are still off the Radar.
Comment
Re: Macaroons in a Paris bakery
I'm not a big fan of macarons (sorry, world!) but among them my favorites are coffee and Fruits Rouges. I noticed recently that there is a caramel with sea salt one now available...will report on that in July.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 20, 2014: The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
Thanks for the pic Ottoman. I have traversed this bridge on 2 separate visits and and was fascinated by its size, architecture and grandeur.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 20, 2014: The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
It is a great photo of a great bridge! And likely a rare day. Most of the times I've been in SF the fog and gloom preclude a nice photo of the Golden Gate.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 20, 2014: The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
I would recommend renting a bicycle at Fishermans Wharf. Take your time crossing the Bridge Stop at Sausalito - Starbucks - Take in the beautiful surrounds. Watch the Fishing Boats. Take the Cycle track and head for the Ferry at Tiburon. Come back to SF on the Ferry and watch as the City rises from the fog. Great day !
Comment
Re: Where In The World # 8.8. Some more clues
Wells House appears to be at least 5 miles from the sea. Given the age of the house and plants, I'm still leaning toward Australia. We'll soon find out.
Comment
Re: Where in the World is Gumbo? 21.0
A nautical theme -with the Life Preservers in the windows ! Tropical trees and a hot climate. And the sea in the background!
Comment
Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 1) An overview of the Country and its People
To say that Ireland is typically wet and cold is true of Winter. The Summers are often pleasant and warm but when you get to the West Coast then the wind blows in of a cold Atlantic Ocean. But the weather can change 4 times a day - so there's something there to please everyone. Ireland has wonderful fresh food. Fresh from the sea and farm. Try a locally produced Vintage Cheddar Cheese or an 18 year old Jamesons Whiskey. Soda bread is a local speciality. But stay away from the home made...
Reply
Re: Minneapolis in the winter
Hi Theodore! I am a Mall of America fan. You can easily spend an entire weekend (or many evenings) at the Mall of America. First of all, the mall is very easy to get to by train from downtown (CICAK did a wonderful job explaining that), and fares are quite cheap (fares go for about $1.75 to $2.25 one way depending on what time of day you ride). As CICAK also mentioned, there is something for everybody at the mall. If you just want to find a warm dry place to walk and people watch, I believe...
Comment
Re: Where Gumbo was #22. Skull Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, California
Lesson learned! I should have Googled Skull Rock instead of speculating about animated films!
Comment
Re: Where Gumbo Was #17: Death Valley, USA
Yes, it's really amazing how colorful and varied desert plants can be. Did you also see the blog from a few weeks ago on the "Spine Garden" of cacti in Arizona? It's at https://www.travelgumbo.com/blo...zona-s-sonora-desert
Reply
Re: Cheapest airfare to Portugal and Spain
Can't speak too much about SEA-TAC strategies, but I'm sure you'll have to change planes at least once! Try to avoid any that change at London, because of the British Air Passenger Duty on the way home, and the huge hassle of Heathrow. I did a little random searching for next July, using an open-jaw plan: Fly to Lisbon, train to Porto, fly to Barcelona, fly home, and found fares around $1600 on offer. Lisbon is not that competitive a city, so one strategy would be to keep an eye out for...
Comment
Re: It wasn't scary enough, so now...no floor!
This is becoming more common with some older coasters, and most fans enjoy it. I'm not crazy about it, but at least it's different.
Reply
Re: Welcome to The Golden State.
Later today, after I'd posted this photo, I was watching the local 6:00 news, Sacramento. A fire had started in Lincoln, NE of Sacramento, a yard full of trucks engulfed and spreading into grass, moving toward a subdivision. A spotter plane left the Grass Valley Base, flew over my house and I looked to see what it was. About 10 minutes later the news helicopter showed it arriving low over the fire to inspect it. I went out again to watch the next plane, a retardant tanker, possibly the one...
Reply
Re: Welcome to The Golden State.
Currently estimated at 32,00 acres in size, the Butte Fire is now burning 1 mile from Mokelumne Hill. While I have no doubt the tiny town will be saved, your best view of it at the moment may be here , on TravelGumbo. More details on the CalFire site.
Comment
Re: Kruger National Park - South Africa
You've some excellent photos here, David! Well done!! The ones of the jackal and lion cubs are my favorites. Hope you'll share more of your journey with us.
Comment
Re: California Gardens 2017: Gold Country, Part I
Luv your garden posts! They've taught me to look at the micro of a garden, not just the overview. Thanks for this!
Comment
Re: California Gardens 2017: Gold Country, Part I
A nice observation, DrF, both aspects of the "art" I speak of.
Comment
Re: Italy: Giant tour bus, tiny street
Yay ! One up for bus drivers ! I drove a 10m DAF bus 20 times from Oslo to North Cape and back. One place in the Lofotens required me to reverse down a winding dirt track with rock on one side and sea on the other with about 2ft of clearance on either side. Thank the lord for power steering and BIG mirrors. Bus drivers deserve all the tips they get !
Comment
Re: Sleepless in Cologne... Sea lions and zoo neighbors
My wife and I visited this very attractive zoo with pleasing fountains and gardens. I don't recall hearing the roar of sea lions, but I did get a candid photo when a pelican snapped his bill at my wife Diane when she ventured to close to their property. While many attractions can be closed on Sundays, we always looked for a chance to visit a European zoo.
Comment
Re: May 10, 2017: Frozen Lake - Clear Creek County, Colorado
Most of these high altitude lakes remain frozen most of the year. While it's further north, I am very familiar with Lake Louise in the Alberta Rockies. While at only 5200 ft above sea level, it receives a heavy snow fall and the ice remains on the lake until well into June, returning in the early fall. Hiking in the area is really limited to June, July and early September (unless you hike slogging through snow and slush)
Comment
Re: A House in Essaouira
Well PortMoresby now you are disturbing old memories... With all it's fading here is a photographic snip of my memories of Essourira around 1980. Note your blue boat is already there but I wonder if more boats became blue with the advent of tourism. Property in the town was only just starting to be purchased by foreign folks at that time. It was always an place of charm and tranquility and great for a sea food Sunday lunch.
Comment
Re: The Getty Villa, Part 2: The Art
I love the jewelry for the intimacy with the wearers I imagine, and the frescos which, to me, are the most alive of all the Roman artistic expressions. Sculpture and mosaics, to me, much less so. I also love the key and perfume bottles, imagining the individual hands that held and used them.
Comment
Re: The Getty Villa, Part 2: The Art
Thanks for the comments, PM. It is a fascinating collection, very extensive and thorough. What I was striving for in this piece is to give the reader a sample for what's there and why the museum is worth visiting. My favorite piece of the ones in this gallery is the toy, the very last one. I can imagine some father lovingly crafting it for his child. The glass products amazed me. Several of the sculptures were grand, especially the one of Hercules (which Getty was very proud of), but the...
Comment
Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive
Fine houses in their pristinely manicured gardens. Don't think I could even afford the taxes. I do like the areas that remain untouched by golf and the hand of fortune. I prefer the untouched to the "candy box tin" painting of nature. I've been to many places where the presence of paupers - like myself - detract from the ambiance of opulence. Even today I had a note attached to my car, that parking in a non-designated zone was being selfish. Even though they were full !
Comment
Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive
Far be it for anyone to say you are selfish, Garry! It is one of the most expensive places to live in California, but I suspect all those drivers going through help subsidize the neighborhood more than that homeowners might want to let on. And I'm not sure most of us could afford the taxes, even if we wanted to. Being an average guy, this is just not my scene.
Comment
Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive
Breathtakingly expensive if I recall. I'm surprised that you are allowed to take photos without paying into the local coffers! :-)
Comment
Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive
I'm also surprised there's no per photo toll imposed on the great unwashed masses visiting the shores of the drive, Mac!
Comment
Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive
Well, the unwashed mass did enjoy his time there.... :-)
Comment
Re: Travel Bucket List Goals Biggest Motivator for Baby Boomer Travel
Never had a "Bucket List" I'm always intrigued when some one makes a find - that's not on everyone's list. I've recently heard that cruising the Baltic Sea is amazing. There's places to avoid and then there's "Must see's" in China. My travel list is constantly changing.
Comment
Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#77)
Certainly hangers but with quite low doors... A large fuel(?) bowser? Looks like a jet blast shield at the end of the runway and sea all around(?). Must have public access or just 'not secret' due to the ferry and Dr. F taking photos, so not military. Why does Dr F ask what the hanger shapes remind me of? It looks as if cars are in front of the hanger doors.. Is that logical? Are we talking seaplanes I wonder... but no slipway and why a runway? Head aches...
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, November 25, 2014: Fall colors at Upper Kananaskis Lake, Alberta
My Wife - she who must be obeyed - loves a single Kayak and the open sea. So I presume this would be on a lake. Much safer I think. Sounds like you have the perfect location for a wilderness family like ours ! When we camp in summer you'd mistake some of the tents for aircraft hangers. But the kids and babies come too. Canoes and Fishing rods. Wet suits and waders. We go to Shell Island in Wales - but only when the tides out. Need to plan your journey ahead. They only have Grizzly Sheep.
Comment
Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive
Cars and bikes are fine, JP, but hogs aren't. The road is good enough so I suspect the home owners (much of the drive is through residential areas) don't want the noise of a big pack of motorcycles passing their gates and fine-trimmed lawns.
Comment
Re: Wawona Hotel, Yosemite National Park, California: Where Gumbo Was #60
Looks like a very nice and comfortable place to stay!
Comment
Re: Gumbo’s Pic of the Day, August 1, 2014: Postcards from Greece - Santorini
That looks like a tough climb from sea level (where I presume you arrived). what's the altitude gain, about 100 m?
Comment
Re: Serra's Church, Mission San Juan Capistrano, California. Where Gumbo Was #46
Somewhere I've got a snapshot of a very young me with a tiny lady holding an object who had insisted my friend take our picture in the garden together. It was in the village of Petra, Majorca and she officiated at the small museum commemorating Junipero Serra's birthplace. I was spending the summer on the island and every student educated in California knows his name almost as well as their own. The address of my high school was El Camino Real, Father Serra's road from mission to mission and...
Comment
Re: A stroll through the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, Vail
Thanks for the comments, Garry. Yes, winter arrives early because of the very high altitude. Over a mile and a half above sea level. Summers are very nice -- warm (75-80F) dry pleasant days (no humidity to speak off), and it always cools down nicely at night, so most places don't even have air conditioning. It really was that empty. No more than 6 folks in the garden including my wife and I, and of course not counting the hundreds of birds flying about.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, February 23, 2015: Skógafoss, Iceland
Thanks for the comment, Garry, and a good question. The waterfall is almost a sea level and only a few kilometers from the ocean. So it is very moderated by the Gulf stream. So far as I could tell, the cliff and ground around it are caked in ice in January and February and hard to navigate. Flow is down, but the water continues flowing even in the coldest months. This photo was taken mid-September. It was a cold and windy day, but most days in Iceland are.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 2, 2014: Boats at Cassis, France
Just like the Cornish Riviera - with French rural architecture. Once you have a taste for living by the sea - its hard to be drawn away.
Comment
Re: Major New Entrant in Cruise Business
It really is a growing business...and another recent "big" entrant would be Viking, which is expanding from its River Cruise business into Sea Cruises. I'm sort of amazed that none of these companies has thought of licensing the 1959 hit in which Frankie Ford pleaded "Let me take you on a sea cruise" for an ad. For those of you too young to remember (is that possible?) here it is....with a funny intro.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 13, 2014: The Damsels of Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
The lovely damsels of Sigiriya would be quite at home at Hugh Hefner's PLayboy mansion! Amazingly well preserved given their 1500 year age. Key to visiting, Mac, is to go very early before it gets too hot, or late in the afternoon as it starts cooling down. But a spry young dude like you should bound all the way to the top of Lion Rock like a springbok. One of the most memorable times I've ever had in my travels was at the top of Sigiriya, right at the end of the day, when I was the only...