A glass vial with the dying breath of famed inventor Thomas Edison.

The maroon chair, still blood stained, where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford Theater.

A folding camp bed that General George Washington actually slept in during the Revolutionary War. Read more...

What must the first Aztec Indian been thinking when he or she decided that the abundant agave plant could be used to produce a potent drink. Creative, for sure.

Walking through La Consentida Tequila Museum in Costa Maya, Mexico, we learned the fascinating history of the popular liquor. The museum is within easy walking distance from where ships dock and was part of shore excursions I booked on my Celebrity Equinox cruise. Read more...

George Glenn Jones almost died before he got a chance to live. The family doctor dropped the baby shortly after delivery. The sturdy newborn survived with only a broken arm.

But what a life the country music legend went on to live in that interval between the day he entered this world on Sept. 12, 1930, and the day he left on April 26, 2013. Read more...

She made it look so easy. A few knots here, some stylish tucks there, a loop around the neck. And viola. A beautiful pareo, the sarong-like clothing worn by Polynesian men and women.

Asking for volunteers from our group of cruise ship passengers, the Mama Ruta designer created four different sarong styles. That was quite impressive but what I found even more interesting was how the artists at Mama Ruta’s hand craft the colorful fabrics used to make the pareos. Read more...

Part of the pleasure of cruising is the cuisine. Sometimes we get a chance to enjoy dishes that we may never have tried. Or we welcome old familiar standbys.

On my cruise aboard the S. S. Legacy for UnCruise Adventures, one of our favorites was the cookies that were served every afternoon. Fresh baked and delicious, the cookies always seemed better than the ones I had at home. Read more...

Cruise ships and mojitos seem to go together in my mind. On a cruise, I am often heading to some sunny island and the cocktail is a cold refresher.

Legend says that the mojito was Ernest Hemingway’s favorite drink. But the origins of the sweet and sour concoctions go back much further than that. Read more...

The little boy ahead of me at the Aviarius wasn’t too sure about this. Hold out his hand with bird seed and let a bird alight to eat it from his hand?

“What if it bites me?” 5-year-old Aaron of Florida asked his mother. After watching other people do it, Aaron bravely stuck out his hand and was immediately visited by a small bird. Read more...

This is a double tough trivia question. It’s actually two questions in one and cruisers are most likely the visitors who have seen this popular photo spot.

First question – Where is this bench and why?

Second question – What book/movie does this bench commemorate? As an extra, do you know who wrote the book? Read more...

The shifting landscape beneath me seems to be pulling me down into its clutches. Creatures with tall spindly spider legs and long elephant trunks gallop across the horizon.

Alice Cooper appears from nowhere. Wait – was that really the shock rocker? What is Alice Cooper doing in my dream? Read more...

The tantalizing sizzle of hamburgers frying on a griddle sure caught my attention. I don’t even like hamburgers but I had to try one of these tempting beef sandwiches.

After all, this is the famous Guy’s Burger Joint on the Carnival Breeze. Created in partnership with Food Network’s spiky-haired Guy Fieri, the poolside restaurant is hopping each day. Read more...