R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 35

Fun Food/Photo Friday — Dunmore East Favorites and Fish ‘n’ Chips at East Pier

Dunmore East Park

As I intimated on Wednesday, Ursula and I were getting a bit peckish from our pedestrian exploration of Dunmore East. And, being a fish ‘n’ chips aficionado from my time in England many years ago, I remembered we had passed a promising looking establishment shortly after disembarking from our tender. It was time to grab a bite, which is why today I’m combining a Fun Photo Friday with a Fun Food Friday. Behold East Pier Fish and Chips:

East Pier, Dunmore East, Ireland

Ar...

Jewel of the Seas — Walking Dunmore East and Meeting a New Friend with a Shared Passion

Ladies Cove, Dunmore East, County Waterford, Ireland

Continuing our trek northward through Dunmore East we stumbled upon a couple of items of interest when we turned right off of Dock Road. The was a pathway to Ladies Cove, which I showed you from a vantage point above as seen from Dunmore East Park. Once we made our way down to the cove, I managed to capture an image of Jewel of the Seas:

Ladies Cove and Jewel of the Seas

As we made our way down to the cove we passed the Round Tower. Do...

Jewel of the Seas — Arriving to Dunmore East

Quoth the Raven, “Dunmore”

Jewel of the Seas made port in Dunmore East in County Waterford, Ireland, on 17 June 2022. We actually arrived here on the preceding Iceland-Ireland-Northern Ireland cruise of 5 June, but rain kept us aboard Jewel that day. No big deal, as this second shot gave us much better weather. So, we tendered in the village and started our self-guided walking tour into this quaint Irish fishing village. On this trip we opted to stay in town, as we’d already visited nearby Wa...

Collector’s Gun Exchange — My Favorite Local Hangout has a New Location

Collector’s Gun Exchange has moved

Ursula and I recently got back from another 33 days abroad, on three back-to-back cruises once again involving Iceland, Norway, and England, but this time with a stop in Halifax on the initial transatlantic crossing. So, imagine my surprise when I got back and, without warning, found that my favorite local gun store had relocated from the eastside of El Paso back to the westside, which is where they originally were twenty years ago. This is Collector’s Gun E...

Fun Photo Friday — Caenarfon and Betws-y-Coed Favorites

St. Mary’s Church, Betws-y-Coed

I had a lot of favorites this day in Wales, and you’re going to be the beneficiary with many more shots than usual for a Fun Photo Friday. I’ll also be running today’s photos as captioned individuals rather than my usual photo gallery/slideshow:

Serenity On This Site Nothing Happened Warding Off Bird Poop Railcar in Green Kazie the Gorilla — Make a Wish Castle Turret Windows, Bricks, and Roof Tiles Railroaded Inviting Approach VR (Victoria ...

Jewel of the Seas — Betws-y-Coed, Wales

Betws-y-Coed, Wales

After Caernarfon, we headed east through the Nant Ffrancon Pass, cut across the Eryri National Park (Snowdonia), and into the charming town of Betws-y-Coed. This town looks as if it were ripped from the pages of a romance novel set in the 19th century. The buildings are mostly stone, the roofs tiles, and there is even a quaint railway station, all of which you’ll see here:

We were left to our own devices for over an hour, then headed back into Snowdonia for more sig...

Jewel of the Seas — Holyhead to Caenarfon

Caenarfon Square, Caenarfon, England

Two days after leaving Greenock, Scotland, Jewel of the Seas arrived at our next port of call — Holyhead, Wales. Holyhead is the largest city in the Isle of Anglesey County. But Ursula and I would not be in Holyhead for long, as we had yet another tour. From Holyhead we traveled east, then south to Caenarfon. We would make Caenarfon a brief stretch-your-legs photo and coffee stop before heading into Snowdonia. During this break, I managed a few shots cente...

Fun Photo Friday — Greenock Favorites

Greenock Gear and Guns

Today concludes our 2022 visit to Greenock, Scotland. Tune in next week for Holyhead. Until then, here’s today’s Fun Photo Friday of Greenock favorites:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Jewel of the Seas — Walking Greenock, Scotland

Canon on Nelson Street, Greenock, Scotland, June 2022

Clouds started rolling in and rain appeared to be in the offing. It was time to turn back north on Nelson Street with an eventual goal of heading west on a circuitous route back to Jewel of the Seas. But before heading back into St George’s Square, Ursula and I took a quick side trip on Ardgowan Street so that I could ABC (Another Bloody Church/Cathedral/Castle). This is the former Greenock Methodist Church, which as far as I can tell is u...

Jewel of the Seas — Voyage 2; Greenock, Scotland

Greenock, Scotland

Today I present our next U.K. destination aboard Jewel of the Seas during our second of three back-to-back cruises. Welcome to the Greenock, a small picturesque town in Scotland about 20 miles/33 kilometers from Glasgow. The first views are, of course, from the Jewel, and provide you with some outstanding shots of the skyline with its many churches:

Nelson Street church towers

Interestingly, the most prominent church tower is the old St George North Church (built in 18...