By Jackie Sheckler Finch

SAN FRANCISCO – Even on a sunny California day, the island was shrouded in fog. We were almost dead-on before the sun broke through and we could see it well.

Despite the balmy breezes, the sight gave me shivers. The island is one very scary place.  And that is exactly what it was intended to be. Read more...

By Jackie Sheckler Finch

The South Polynesian island of Huahine is said to have the best-preserved historic marae on the islands so that was the shore excursion I chose when our ship docked.

So far, the marae I have seen look like piles of rocks or elevated land. If a tour guide and info signs didn’t describe what I was seeing, I probably would not have known the historic significance of the pre-European temples. Read more...

By Jackie Sheckler Finch

It wasn’t the rhythmic Caribbean music or the tumbling waterfall or the devilish looking masks that caught 6-year-old Angela Thompson’s attention. It was the replica of a prehistoric lizard trapped in amber thousands of years ago. Read more...

By Jackie Sheckler Finch

Imagine Iceland without horses, those beautiful short husky creatures that look so striking on the country’s landscape.

That’s the way it was until the Vikings came more than 1,000 years ago and brought  Nordic horses with them. Although they are smaller than most horses, I learned shortly after arriving in Iceland not to call them ponies. Read more...

Today I walked on a glacier. I’ve seen many glaciers in my travels but I’ve never set foot on one. This was quite an adventure.

The glacier I visited is one of the most famous sites in Iceland primarily because it was featured in the novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth” by Jules Verne in which the entrance to the mysterious interior of our planet is located on Snaefellsjökull. Read more...

SANTORINI, Greece – Could this actually be the fabled Atlantis? Some people think it is and some research does support that belief.

However, others believe the mysterious Atlantis never really existed. That it was a make-believe place used by the early Greek philosopher Plato to teach a lesson in humility. Read more...

HEIDELBERG, Germany – Love will find a way. On today’s shore excursion, I learned about the famous Heidelberg Student Kiss and even got to enjoy one.

The story goes that the Heidelberg Student Kiss is both a confection and a bit of fascinating history from the 1800s. Read more...

COLOGNE, Germany  – Napoleon Bonaparte loved Eau de Cologne so much that he ordered 50 bottles a month. The famous emperor used the fragrant water extravagantly and supposedly had special boots designed where he could stash an emergency bottle of cologne. Read more...

Imagine Iceland without horses, those beautiful short husky creatures that look so striking on the country’s landscape.

That’s the way it was until the Vikings came more than 1,000 years ago and brought Nordic horses with them. Although they are smaller than most horses, I learned shortly after arriving in Iceland not to call them ponies. Read more...

MILOS, Greece – It gave me shivers just to be standing here. Tucked into a hillside on the Greek isle of Milos are the graves of early Christians. These catacombs are from the 1^st century AD. It is mind boggling to consider what took place here and how long ago it happened. Read more...