Hello again,
The second half of 2026 starts with a flight to Miami. We usually try to avoid Miami in July and August, but Carol had booked a cruise to Alaska about 2 years ago, for us and her 2 children. But babies, girlfriends, work and life in general, prevented the children from going, so it was to be just the 2 of us in the end. It made sense to come to Miami and fly up to Alaska from there, so that’s what we did.
It was great to be back in our Miami apartment, we both love it there, even in the extreme heat of Miami. It was almost as hot as the UK this summer!!
One of my first jobs was to get my Ducati 1200R Multistrada fixed. I took it to Ducati Miami to have the front fork seals replaced, as they were leaking oil everywhere. This is mine:
And I would like either of these for Christmas please:
Being in sunny Miami allowed me to work hard on my shoulder exercises and swimming in the pool every day, adding 2 lengths to the short, 18m pool, each day.
Our first trip from Miami, was to Chicago. Carol and I are both very fond of one of Bobby’s friends, Theo. He is also the son of our friend Fabie. When we last saw him in Sao Paulo, he invited us to visit him and his fiancé, Chloe in Chicago. I also have an old friend from university days now residing in Chicago, who has also invited me to visit him many times. As I have never been to Chicago, we decided to go and visit them both.
We flew up from Miami on July 3rd as we thought it would be fun to be there for the July 4th celebrations.
We checked into the hotel, which was way too boutique and dark for our taste, we must be getting old . After a quick freshen up, we set out to explore the city a little. On Theo’s recommendation, we took the riverboat architectural tour, which was actually more fun than it sounds.
At least they had a bar 😊. Then in the evening, Carol recommended that we go for dinner (which my fabulous app RestiView, reminds me), at the Twin Anchors Restaurant & Tavern. OMG it was fabulous, if you ever go to Chicago, it’s a must! The best ribs, fries, green beans, dill pickle and coleslaw, I have EVER had. The next day we met Theo and Chloe at the Chicago planetarium. Here is Carol with young Theo:
It was great to see them, and they showed us around the city. In the evening we met for dinner at the RPM Seafood restaurant, we rated it at 78/100, so pretty good, and we got to watch the fireworks from there. Sunday the 5th was a big World Cup football day, at lunchtime we went to a big Irish pub:
where Theo and Chloe had arranged to meet with friends (mostly Brazilian) and watch the Brazil-Norway world cup game. We had lunch there and watched the game, which for all Brazilians was a disaster, as Erling Harland effectively beat them single handedly, with 2 amazing goals.
Then in the evening I met up with my friend Dave and his wife, at another pub to watch the England – Mexico game. Carol, Theo and Chloe joined us and of course many beers were consumed as we cheered England to a great victory.
Here are the happy and victorious, England fans:
We had fun in Chicago, on our last night Theo and Chloe took us a great blues night club with live music, very cool place.
We returned to Miami and the next event was a trip to the Miami Soho House, where we watched the England-Norway game.
Strangely, there seemed to be more Norwegian fans than English, but the end result was correct.
In mid-July we set off on a very long adventure, with many stops, the first of which was a flight to Phoenix, Arizona, as I had been unable to find a direct flight to Anchorage, Alaska. We had a 6-hour stopover there, before the flight on to Anchorage, so we jumped into a taxi and headed into Phoenix. We got halfway there, when Carol suddenly realised that she had left her handbag in the restroom!
The taxi did a quick U-turn, and we rushed back to the airport and we arrived just as a cleaner was just coming out of the restroom with Carol’s bag, to take it to lost and found! Phew, panic over! Take two…
There is only one word for Phoenix, HOT! It was 40C + and very humid. We ended up in an Irish pub which specialises in pasties. Our lunch there was delicious. On the way back we got a Waymo, now my favourite form of taxi, no stinky driver!
<< Waymo Video >>
Then from the heat of Phoenix, we flew on to the coolness of Anchorage, Alaska. The town or rather city of Anchorage is very nice. This was the view from our hotel room - summer in Alaska!
It is a bit like stepping back in the 1970s/1980s. Not much seems to have changed there. Lots of old-fashioned buildings. Anchorage in July, is still a little chilly, and it does not get dark at night. It is very strange to come out of a restaurant at 11pm and its still light as you walk back to the hotel. Carol’s Alaskan objective was to see bears and whales. So, the next day we headed out to a wildlife sanctuary, where we saw black bears and lots of other wildlife too.
<< Anchorage Gallery >>
The next day we took a trip to explore a glacier. We got fully prepared at the base camp, fitted with helmets and crampons for our boots and off we went with our guide and a few other fellow glacier walkers.
It was interesting and fun to explore the glacier. Here are lots of pictures:
<< Glacier Walk Gallery >>
Finally, it was time to get on the boat and go cruising. We had made friends with a local taxi driver, who took us from Anchorage on the 3-hour drive down to Seward. There we boarded the Crystal Symphony, our home for the next 6 days, as we cruised down to Vancouver.
It was a fabulous ship and not too big, only 600 guests, but big enough. It had a pool, a tennis court, 2 golf driving nets, casino, piano bar and about 6 very nice restaurants. We had our own little suite and a butler, who provided everything we could need. This was our sweet little suite:
The restaurants were amazing, some you had to reserve and also follow the dress code.
(With the aid of my app “RestiView”, I can tell you that) On our first night we dined at the Umi Uma Japanese restaurant.
After a good night's sleep, we were told that we would be cruising up to the famous Hubbard glacier. It really was spectacular. As we got closer there were lots of small ice burgs floating in the sea around us.
<< DAY 2 Gallery >>
We arrived at the port of Sitka, where we boarded the ship’s life-rafts which took us to the shore. Nice idea to use them regularly, so we all know they actually work, in case we ever really need them! In Sitka, we boarded a much smaller boat to go whale watching and we saw quite a few massive humpback whales.
<< DAY 3 Gallery >>
In the evening at dinner, we were given a small wedding anniversary cake. We don’t really know how/why, as we had told them this was our honeymoon in the hope of lots of free champagne.
<< DAY 4 Gallery >>
The next day we moored out at sea, near Icy Strait Point and we went ashore again. We did have an excursion booked that day, which was to pilot our own little boat and explore the wildlife. Sadly, the sea was too rough and so it was cancelled. Instead, we took a gondola up to the top of a nearby mountain and we managed to find a small tour bus and a guide, who took us on a very nice little tour around the forest. We saw a lot of forest and a lot of nice views but not much wildlife. The bears definitely did not want to come out to play that day.
<< DAY 5 Gallery >>
The next day we arrived at the port of Ketchikan. Here we disembarked and managed to take some nice close-ups of the ship. We headed to the town of Ketchikan. There must have been 5 or 6 other cruise liners moored up along the quay, so the town was busy! We got the shuttle bus into the main town and then found a nice old seafood, saloon style restaurant for lunch. Then we befriended a nice young taxi-driver-lady, who became our guide for the day. She found us a spot where black bears are known to feed in the river. But not that day, although we did see a fine bald eagle close by.
DAY 6
A really nice relaxing day, just cruising through the Seymour Narrows. Fabulous views as we took a scenic passage through a narrow channel in British Columbia. In the distance we passed this comical little, classic desert island with a single palm tree!
And then our lovely, romantic, honeymoon cruise was over ☹…
But our travels were not yet complete…
The cruise was amazing. It was only the second cruise that we have done, but I have concluded that I really do like cruising. I like the relaxation, the pace is slow and I think I even liked the days when we did not stop at a port just as much!
The cruise ended in Vancouver, which we had not been to before. Almost everybody I know that has visited Vancouver, raved about the place. So, we decided to have a few days there, to see for ourselves.
In Sitka, we had taken a trip to see whales, and I thought it was quite successful, as we saw both humpbacked whales and a few Orcas. But Carol really wanted to see whales actually jumping out of the water, so we booked another whale viewing trip in Vancouver. Annoyingly, it rained all day! But we did see quite a few more whales, however, none of them performed to Carol’s requirements! 😊.
We liked Vancouver, but did not rate it as highly as most people. Here are some pics from our visit to the Vancouver Museum of Modern Art and the whale watching trip:
<< Vancouver Gallery >>
Next destination was Salt Lake City (SLC), in Utah. Carol had heard about a resort, where you can stay in moonscape bubbles and gaze at the stars at night, in a tiny place called Henryville. We were immediately impressed with SLC, when we arrived at the airport, it was so clean and the people were amazingly friendly. It was a bit like being in the Truman Show, if you saw that movie.
After a night at the fabulous Great American Hotel in SLC
I jumped into an Uber to go and collect the car from the airport. In the car I realised I had left my passport at the hotel . I hoped my driving licence and credit card would be enough, but sadly, it was not. I offered a picture of my passport, but as usual in the US, they must have the physical thing. At least the airport was only a short 15-minute ride to the back to the hotel. When I returned with my passport the Enterprise Car Rentals manager was very nice and gave me a $100 discount to pay for my extra Ubers and a free full tank of gas! People in SLC are very nice people!
I had chosen a Mercedes 350 GLE SUV and wow! What a car, as I will explain.
It is as close to a self-driving car as you can get. The drive to Bryce Canyon is long, almost 5-hours, but the roads were not too busy and after a couple of hours they were almost empty. The car has lane control. So, if you take your hands off the wheel, it will drive itself, but of course that is not legal. Therefore, after about 30 seconds or more, a red light flashes to tell you to put your hands back on the wheel. But if you just rest a few fingers on the wheel, it is happy and it will drive you.
Add that to adaptive cruise control. This works by setting your speed, I usually set it to 5 mph over the speed limit, say 65 mph in 60 zone. The car then cruises at 65 on a clear road, but slows down if there is traffic and it keeps a fixed distance between you and the car ahead. You can set the distance you are comfortable with. Once set you do not need to touch the accelerator or the brake and you don’t need to steer, just leave 3 fingers lightly resting on the wheel and the car is happy. When you are on a twisted road with the cruise set to say 60, when you come to a bend the car knows to slow down to a safe speed to take the bend and then return to 60. You do nothing. Even at night, it sets your headlights to main beam when needed and dips them when a car is coming. Amazing, so smooth and so relaxing! I want one!
To break up the drive we stopped for lunch at Filly’s Carhop Café for a great burger and fries:
Then onto Stargazing at Henryville, Utah. This place is amazing. In the middle of nowhere, there is a little community of about 50+ space domes.
<< Star Gazing Gallery >>
It reminded me of the old TV series, “Space 1999”. The domes are big, constructed with triangular sections each about 1m. Half of the sections are glass with very long curtains from floor to ceiling. So, when in bed, you can have the curtains open and gaze up at the stars all night (if there are no clouds!). The room was amazing, fitted with 3 A/C units, which are all very much needed. It has a disco ball, a dance floor with flashing lights, below it, Bluetooth sound system, a swinging chair and lots of fun stuff.
Carol was disappointed, as it was cloudy on the first night. We left the curtains open, but saw no stars, only a blinding sunrise the next morning.
After breakfast in the main big super-bubble, we set off for Bryce Canyon National Park. Sadly, what had started as a blazing hot morning, quickly turned wet and stormy. So, we bought some waterproof tops and set off to see the sights of the canyon. They were breathtaking, we had no idea it would be so beautiful:
<< Bryce Canyon Gallery >>
For our second night there, we went for dinner at the Cowboy buffet restaurant. Then home for another try at star gazing. The night was clear, but the moon was full. We did see a few stars, but the moon was very bright.
On our final morning, we returned to the national park to see the main canyon view that we could not see the day before. Then I decided that we needed to get out and do some hiking. So we walked up a river to Mossy Cove to see the waterfall, stunning again.
Then it was time to head back to Salt Lake City airport for our midnight flight back to Miami. We did the 5-hour drive in one go, only stopping for petrol. Correction, the car drove us back to SLC airport, it was effortless and not tiring at all. It’s the future. In a few years time, the only difference will be that I won’t need to rest the 3 fingers on the wheel…
It was a long trip, and we were very happy finally to return to Miami. I wanted to get back to swimming and doing my shoulder exercises every day.
After a week or so, on 11-August, we set off for New York. Our friends Ira and Helene, who also live mostly in Miami, have a summer house in The Hamptons. They invite us to visit every summer, so we finally agreed to go. Carol loves New York, so she wanted to have a few days in Manhattan after The Hamptons. That was until New York became a hotbed for the e-coli salad outbreak. So that part of the trip was cancelled.
We flew from Miami to JFK and collected my favourite rental car, the Mercedes 350 GLE SUV and set off on the 2 ½ hour drive out to the Hamptons.
Our friends Helene and Ira have had a house there for more than 20-years, and wow, what a house:
I had stayed in the Hamptons once before, in 2015, but our hosts were determined that we would see much more of the Hamptons. The beaches are amazing and we were both struck by how quiet and unspoiled it is. They have really done a good job of preserving the nature there.
On our last day there we visited a nearby outdoor art display:
<< Hamptons Art Gallery >>
Then it was time for the Mercedes to drive us back to JFK and then sadly a 3-hour delayed flight, due to a flight attendant, who was just simply, very late!
The final event in Miami, was a visit from my eldest daughter Sarah. She is an education consultant, and her company allows her to work from wherever she is, as long as she puts in her hours. So, I extended my stay in Miami, and she flew out to hang out with me in mid-August, when Miami is still very hot!
We had great fun. We started with a very hot, very fast, game of racquetball, as the Courts has its own racquetball court. We did lots of swimming and went to many good restaurants: Otto & Pope, Casablanca on the River, Gall Me Gaby, Big Pink (Sarah’s favourite cool café), Motek South Beach and the bastille café.
We signed up for a guided Jet-ski safari, which was quite an experience. As I have a weak shoulder, I agreed to let Sarah drive, and I was the back seat passenger! I had to hang on for dear life!
To conclude our fun week, we rented a Polaris Slingshot, which is described as a three-wheels autocycle. It is a very light 3-wheel car, with just one wheel at the back and a powerful 2-litre engine. Great fun to drive, people stare at you, not sure of what they are seeing, as you roar past!
<< Slingshot Gallery >>
Sarah is an adventurous soul; she signed up to do a 5km run with a big group of runners. She made friends on the run and was then invited to do a 1-mile swim in the sea, with another big group. So early Sunday morning I went down with Sarah to South Beach to see her off. They take it very seriously of course and they require everyone to have their own floatation device. They had a safety talk then split into 2 groups, either 1-mile or 2 miles! But they are never far from the shore, so they can bail out at any time.
<< Sarah in Miami Gallery >>
After that, Sarah returned to London and I returned to Brazil. In early September, Carol informed me that she had VIP tickets to go and see Elton John play at Rockin’ Rio. So, we flew up to Rio for the weekend and saw the great man. He is 79 now but still blasts out a great show.
For the last 2 weeks of September, I went back to London as I had to do my annual blood test to check that all is well with my stent implant. And coincidentally, and *very* sadly, I was to be in the UK soon after 2 of my very old friends had passed away, within a day of each other. My dear old friend Tim Blakey passed away suddenly. I’ve known Tim since I was 14-years old. We drank together, smoked together, played darts, cricket, golf, pinball, watched football and grew up together. Then one of Tim’s best friends, and mine too in years gone by, Phil Thomas passed away in his sleep, from a heart attack. A sad, sudden, awful, double shock for everyone who knew them.
I was able to attend Phil’s funeral in High Wycombe. The church was totally packed with friends and family. I saw old friends that I had not seen for 40-years! It was so sad to be reconnecting at such an unhappy event.
I am so sad for Tim’s mum and my dear friend Norma. Keeping in touch with her was the inspiration for this blog. So, my thoughts and prayers go out to her especially.
Probably, inspired a little from the funeral, I decided to make a very quick 24-hour visit to see my old best friend, Peter Bonner, who lives in Barcelona. We met, played some pool, went for dinner, then went for a drink in a bar where his son was working and caught up with all our news over many pints of Guinness.
The next day I flew back to Heathrow, picked up my suitcase from the storage there, changed terminals, to get my flight back to Sao Paulo. And that is the very sad end to this quarter.
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However, before I go…
My app “RestiView” is pretty much complete, I still have some more testing and some finishing touches to do. But it is live and available from both Android Play Store and the Apple App Store. So, you can download it today and try it out. I would love to hear any feedback, good or bad. Just search for “RestiView” or here is a link:
https://invite.restiview.com/?token=-P40P-dwPDpHySE2s8kb&name=Peter%20The%20great
Take care and stay healthy!
From Peter