R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 36

Fun Photo Friday — Dover Favorites 2

Colton’s Gate, Dover Castle

Today’s Fun Photo Friday concludes Voyage 2 aboard Jewel of the Seas. Next week it’s back for a visit to Amsterdam before reboarding Jewel for the most exciting voyage yet on this trip. And here’s today’s collection of Dover favorites:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Jewel of the Seas — Dover; More on Dover Castle

Dover Castle battlements

Today I will continue to show you the sights of the largest castle in the United Kingdom — Dover Castle. This immense fortification dates back to Henry II in the late 12th century, but it’s military history spans well beyond that all the way through World War II. Indeed, the tunnels that were so useful during WWII, when they served as both an underground hospital and military command center, were repurposed in the early stages of the Cold War as a shelter for the Regi...

Jewel of the Seas — Dover; St. Mary’s Church and Dover Castle

Historic Dover

There are actually two St. Mary’s Churches in Dover. One resides east of town, high up on a hill next to Dover Castle (St. Mary sub Castro — St. Mary in the Castle), and it’s an ancient Saxon structure dating back to at least AD 1000, and perhaps even before. That’s not the one I’m going to show you today. Today’s St. Mary’s Church (Church of St. Mary the Virgin) is the one you glimpsed in Monday’s article. This Anglican church is around 100 years younger (circa AD 1100), with ...

Fun Photo Friday — Dover Favorites 1

Mail Box — G VI R translates to the reign of King George VI

Today is the first of two Fun Photo Fridays featuring Dover favorites. Next week not only concludes our look at Dover, but also finishes up voyage two of three back-to-backs aboard Jewel of the Seas. Enjoy!

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Jewel of the Seas — Dover; Dover Museum and a Bronze Age Boat

Ground Floor, Dover Museum —  Archaeology Gallery

In Market Square, bound by North Downs Way and Cannon Street, is the Dover Museum. The main attraction here is on the second floor, or third floor if you’re one of us yanks since the first floor is the one above the ground floor here in the U.K. The ground floor contains the Archaeology Gallery, and it’s here you’ll find stuff such as a wooden bucket dating back to the 6th century:

6th century wooden bucket View of the Archaeology Gallery...

Jewel of the Seas — Arriving to Dover

The White Cliffs of Dover

As you may recall, this is the second of three back-to-backs aboard Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas, which in turn was the fourth voyage taken this trip in 2022 starting with a transatlantic crossing aboard Vision of the Seas followed by a Mediterranean cruise aboard the same ship. Interspersed between those voyages were trips to Limburg an der Lahn, Germany, and Utrecht, Netherlands. We’re now approaching the end of this voyage, which was followed up with a crui...

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...