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In the Wake of the Explorers
  • Chuck Cook
  • Glenda Cook

In the Wake of the Explorers

In 1524 Verrazano, going to Canada, was the first European to see my home state. Cartier followed with 3 voyages between 1534-1542. Champlain traced the St. Lawrence to Quebec in 1608. We will sail where they sailed; see what they saw. Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 22, 2025
    In the Wake of the Explorers
    Jacques Cartier at a Quebec Coffee Shop

    Prologue

    September 22 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 61 °F

    Giovanni da Verrazzano was an Italian sailor hired in 1524 by the King of France to explore the New World which Christopher Columbus stumbled upon thirty years before. Verrazano explored the coasts of North America, and was the first European to see the East Coast. When I go to North Carolina’s beaches, I always wonder about Verrazano. He was the first European to see my home state. Not only did he discover the Southeast, though, he also discovered Chesapeake Bay, New York Harbor, New England and Nova Scotia.

    From 1534-1542 Jacques Cartier made three voyages to North America, navigating the St. Lawrence River and laying the foundation for inland French claims. He also named Canada and attempted to establish the first European settlement in the region.

    Samuel de Champlain (1604-1616) explored the Atlantic coast of Canada and the interior, founding Quebec in 1608 and developed the colony of New France.

    Initially a key goal for all of these explorers was to find a navigable water route from Europe to Asia, the mythical Northwest Passage. Very quickly, however, the inland fur trade became a major economic driver, fostering important relationships with Native American tribes. 

    In the next few weeks, we will be retracing their voyages onboard the stunning expedition ship Viking Polaris. Although we will enjoy the many gifts the area has to offer today, in the back of my mind I will constantly be thinking about what this place must have been like in the days of Verrazano.    Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers

    Launchpad

    September 22 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

    We are at the Charlotte airport again, going to Canada this time. Unfortunately, there is a very loud, deafeningly shrill alarm whistle filling the entire airport. Glory Be! As I am writing this it just stopped after about 30 minutes, so we’re at gate A10 silently waiting for our flight to Canada.🇨🇦Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers

    Arrival in Toronto

    September 22 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 66 °F

    We arrive in Toronto in a thunderstorm and have to wait to deplane because of lightning nearby. When it was time to deplane, we had to do so onto the tarmac in the pouring rain so everyone got soaked. We got through immigration and customs in a flash because we had already given the information online in an app. We had to sit in a waiting area from about 11 AM until noon waiting for more Viking shipmates to arrive to be taken to the ship.Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    Explorers' LoungeOne of the Hot PoolsThe BakeryThe Puzzle AreaThe HideThe StudioAn Obscure Little LoungeManfredi's Italian RestaurantThe Restaurant

    Onboard the Viking Polaris

    September 22 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 68 °F

    This is our second voyage on the Viking Polaris. This expedition ship is slightly different from the other Viking ocean ships. It is designed for adventure. Right now it is on a longitudinal world cruise going from northern Canada to Antarctica. The segment that we will enjoy goes from Toronto through the St. Lawrence seaway to Nova Scotia, then down the East Coast of North America to Fort Lauderdale. The ship is beautiful, new and elegant. It is made for adventure and we’re ready for it.Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    iPhone Class

    St. Lawrence Locks

    September 23 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 66 °F

    Today was a sea day, so we had an easy day of rest, relaxation, and great food. We are in the St. Lawrence Seaway, a waterway that traces and skirts the St. Lawrence River from Toronto to the Atlantic Ocean. Its 15 locks allow ocean-going vessels to navigate the 250 foot drop between the Great Lakes and the mouth of the river. One of the locks through which we passed today, the Eisenhower Lock, brought back my childhood memories of President Eisenhower and Canadian Prime Minister Harold Diefenbaker meeting here to open the seaway officially in 1959 after 5 years of construction. Since then every port on the Great Lakes from Duluth, Minnesota eastward has had access to the world’s oceans. The St. Lawrence Seaway has been an enormous boon to the economy of the American Midwest.

    The trip has been simply idyllic. For supper tonight I had pumpkin soup with a maple cream sauce and duck a l’orange. Just before supper Glenda went to a class to help folk learn some of the hidden tricks available on their iPhone. What a lovely, leisurely day!    Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    Basilica of Notre Dame du CapMaple Leaf OrganShrine of the MiracleAltar in the ShrineRobert DuBoisé's Sugar ShackLiquid GoldMaple Toffee

    Parlez Vous?

    September 24 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    We stepped of the gangway of the Viking Polaris into France. The little town of Troix Rivieres feels as though it just got plucked out of Bordeaux and plopped down in the Western Hemisphere.

    Our first step took us to the Basilica of Notre Dame du Cap, a large octagonal temple whose stained glass windows alone are breathtaking. The cabinet for the organ pipes is in the form of a maple leaf. As far as the faith is concerned, the main structure on this glorious two-mile long, tree-lined park is the small church adjacent to the basilica where, according to the tradition, a man’s broken leg was miraculously healed in a matter of minutes as a statue of the Blessed Virgin opened its eyes for about three minutes. This happened in 1872. Both church buildings and the massive park surrounding them are peaceful, serene and invite meditation.

    Next we went to the Sugar Shack of Robert DuBoisé. In 1978 he bought 175 acres of land and since then has mastered the difficult art of making maple syrup and maple toffee. His legendary product is so good it is not even shipped out of Troix Rivieres. All of it consumed by the local market. Of course there is a little shop on the site to supply up tourists, but since neither Glenda nor I are checking luggage, we had to pass. Up here maple syrup is gold. There are three national storage facilities nearby. In 2012 some of the workers in one of these huge warehouses began siphoning off the maple syrup in the 1 million barrels stored at their facility. Before they were caught, they had pilfered $32 million worth of syrup. It was the largest heist, dollar-wise, in Canadian history.

    Three of the four paper plants that supported this town throughout the twentieth century have closed now, but Troix Rivieres is capitalizing on it lovely scenery, its quaint architecture, and its natural beauty, and now it has become a center for tourism. It’s a beautiful place to visit, and we plan to do more exploring in town later today.    Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers

    Maple Toffee, Finally

    September 24 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    In 1995 I came to Canada to teach a workshop on cooperative learning. Later that week Kathy Dickson and I attended a festival honoring the fur trappers. At that festival, I had maple toffee and for the past 30 years I’ve tried to describe to Chuck how wonderful it was. At the festival they poured pure maple syrup on a snow-covered board and then inserted a popsicle stick and rolled the maple syrup up. Today they had chilled our maple syrup and we twisted that chilled syrup into maple toffee. I’m so grateful that after 30 years Chuck got to taste what I’ve been raving about for so long.Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers

    Snooping Around Troix Rivieres

    September 24 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    We just went walking in downtown Troix Rivieres to see what we could see. It’s a lovely place with flowers and relaxed people enjoying the park on a sunny Wednesday. We originally planned to find a French patisserie and get a cup of coffee and a pastry. There were several places where we might have done that, but when it came down to it, I was still full from a wonderful lunch served onboard the ship. I had a delicious beef soup served in a big hollowed-out bread bowl. We found a beautiful city park where we sat and engaged in people-watching for about half an hour. It seems we are finding one miracle after another in Troix Rivieres.Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    Fairmont's Chateau FrontenacA Piece of France in the New WorldMonument to Canada's "First Nations"

    Rainy Day in Quebec

    September 25 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    The name of today’s footprint sounds like the title of a novel, but it describes what happened today. My camera got a few shots of the city early in the morning, but when we started our excursion, the bottom of the sky fell out.

    Still, despite copious rain, it was a wonderful day, exploring the beautiful French ambience of the Old City. It was founded in the 1530’s by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. We also saw the Plains of Abraham, where British General Wolfe and French General Montcalm both died in a European conflagration we call “The French and Indian War.” We went next to a waterfall, Montmorency Falls, whose beauty, though not its size, matches Niagra’s cataract. In the rain and fog the waterfall looked magical.

    Being here brought home to my mind two peculiarities about Quebec. In the first place, this area must be the most furiously contested area outside the Middle East. The historic remains of military defenses are everywhere. We saw forts designed to protect the French from the Indians in the seventeenth century, from the British in the eighteenth century and from the Americans in the nineteenth century. This place has changed owners more often than a 1967 Mercury Comet.

    The other realization was that the French were here first, at least as far as European settlement is concerned. They founded this place and built it into a city. Yet for much of the last 200 years the French descendants have been at a disadvantage. Even though they were the first Europeans here, history has made them a minority. In Quebec City, 95% of the population speaks French, as did the founders of this nation. Yet much of the nation’s development occurred under British rule, hence the dominance of the English language. One can understand why the French-speaking citizens of Quebec felt like second-class citizens. Thankfully the government is now making accommodations to the presence of a large Francophone minority.

    Of course one could extend this argument to include the so-called “First Nations” in Canada, the indigenous tribes, who really were here first. One can be grateful that they also have received greater recognition from the government in recent years. The Wendat tribes, misnamed by the French as the “Huron Indians,” had been here long before any Europeans. They were the ones who named this place. Their word “Kébec” means, “where the river narrows.” Because the river narrows here, in bygone days, ocean-going ships were forced to stop here to unload. Thus, Quebec was Canada’s major Atlantic port until the completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. Since then it has shared its role as an Atlantic seaport with Montreal and Toronto.

     Whatever the internal political stresses of Canada may be, the Canadians certainly made us feel welcome today. As we got out of the bus to admire the beautiful Chateau Frontenac, Starbucks gave us shelter from the rain. A short walk outside revealed an elaborate monument to Samuel de Champlain. Within a block is a church which is the burial place of the first Bishop of Canada. The history here is palpable. The architecture is stunning. The atmosphere and the food are French. If you want to go to Paris, but can’t, a visit to Quebec can certainly scratch that itch.

    The difficulties faced by the citizens of Quebec over the last two hundred years, notwithstanding, Canada is a remarkable nation with its own history and culture. It is not an appendage of the United States. Canada has set its own course, and as the culture in the U.S is changing, Canada is following its own path, capitalizing on the advantages that come from being one of the greatest agricultural producers in the world.

    Despite the weather, we had a wonderful day here. I hope you can come and enjoy this remarkable neighbor to the north sometime soon. But before you come, be sure to brush up on your French.    Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers

    Morning Adventure

    September 26 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    On this sea day, we are sitting in the Explorer’s Lounge with Kathy and Gil. Chuck has his hearing aids charging in the room so he is not wearing them right now. The captain came over the horn and announced “ We’re going to be closing some of the doors from the bridge and this may result in a suspension of services for a few minutes.” Chuck turned to me, looking very confused and said. “Did the captain just say that they’re going to be removing their clothes on the bridge and this may result in a suspension of services for a few minutes? What kind of drill are they having up there?”

    I couldn’t stop laughing for a few minutes. But when I got control of myself, I told him what the captain had really said. What Chuck heard was way more interesting.

    Traveling is filled with adventure 😂😂😂😂

        Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    1The End of Our Evening Meal

    Galley Tour

    September 26 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 57 °F

    Yesterday afternoon, we took a tour of the galley with our executive chef. Anytime I’ve done a galley tour on a Viking ship. I’m impressed with the cleanliness and also the small area that they have for cooking. Each station in the back is no bigger than the smallest bedroom in our house. The cooking stations are divided into a salads area, a butcher shop, a meat preparation area, a side dish area, and a dessert area. There is one chef in charge of each station on the Viking Polaris. The bread is all baked in an open kitchen on the serving deck of the world café. The Viking executive chefs have made minimizing food waste into an art. Very little food is discarded at the end of each day. Their serving dishes on the hot buffet line are smaller than a 9 x 13 casserole dish so that they can be replenished. No food is allowed out more than four hours. I will say that all the food on board is exceptional. We are also impressed by the fact that every crew member seems genuinely happy to be working on a Viking ship. And at the end of a lovely sea day we were treated to a magnificent sunset.Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    Large Rock Gives Cap-aux-Meules Its NameLocal Residents Support Their BreweryBrewery Name Means Shelter from the StormBeers Flavored with Local WildflowersViking PolarisWinery Regularly Wins Prizes for Its ProductsFortified Wine Made Like MoonshineWine Flavored With Local Ingredients

    Another Unknown Paradise

    September 27 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 57 °F

    A couple of years ago, I posted a footprint entitled “The most Wonderful Place You Never Heard Of.” I could have done the same thing today as we landed at Cap-aux-Meules (pronounced cap-o-moles) off the coast of Nova Scotia. The French name of this place literally means “grindstone cape.” A large boulder in the middle of the big island here looks like a grindstone and gave the island its name. The 13,000 residents here called this archipelago “the Madeleine Islands.” The small English population here calls them the Magdalen Islands, or just “the Maggies.” These maritime islands are windswept, bare, and beautiful. Most of the residents here are fishermen for part of the year and then have other jobs when fishing is not permitted.

    When we arrived this morning, the temperature was about 55° and there was a 25 mile an hour wind blowing. It felt frigid, the wind blowing the sea oats and the wild, treeless seascape looked like something out of a Winslow Homer painting. Two lighthouses here are still operational, standing watch as they look out to sea. The language here is a strange dialect of French known as Acadian. All of the residents here are descendants of the Acadian French, who were here 200 years ago. When the English arrived, they deported these people away from the islands. Some went to French possessions in the Atlantic, others went to the Caribbean, but a few wound up in Louisiana. There their name was corrupted from “Acadians” to “Cajuns.” Since then, some of their far-flung descendants have returned.

    Our excursions today were fascinating. In addition to seeing some of the more beautiful flora and fauna of the region. We visited a micro brewery that flavors its beer with native wildflowers. We also visited a winery that makes a local moonshine, flavored with wild blueberries, strawberries, and cranberries, and the flavors are delicious.

    The simple culture here is charming with its own little local festivals. One festival involves putting on costumes and masks and then visiting neighbors’ houses. The costumed visitors can only nod yes or no, and the host tries to guess who they are. Once a year, there is also a sandcastle construction competition. Each family builds its own sandcastle on the beach, and local officials award a prize for the best castle. There is also an annual boat-building competition. The local government provides contestants with $200 which they use to build a boat. The boats must float, and race is held. The winner of the race gets a prize and the status of a local hero for one year.

    It’s not easy to reach the Magdalene Islands. You can go to Prince Edward Island and take a ferry, or you can fly to Quebec and board a smaller airplane to bring you here. Many of the residents have a large camper trailer outside their home. During the summer tourist season, the family will live in the camping trailer and they will rent their home out to visitors. No wonder tourism is now the second largest industry in the Madeleine Islands. If you want to get away from it all on your vacation, there is no better place to come.    Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    Aboard the ZodiacReconstructed FortressLighthouse from 1734Spotting Gray SealsThe Viking PolarisModern Town of Louisbourg

    Zodiac Attack

    September 28 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    The first thing I had to get used to here is the name of the place. We are on Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island in the English-speaking part of Canada. The name of this place is Louisbourg. Those of us from North Carolina are familiar with Louisburg (pronounced Lewisburg) where the Methodist Church has a small college. The name of this place is pronounced Loo-ee-bourg, like the name of the French king for whom the town and the fort were named in the early 1700’s. The fort is a reconstruction from the 1960’s, the largest historical reconstruction in the Western Hemisphere. But the town is real, with about 800 families still living here.

    In its prime in the eighteenth century, this fort held twice that number of homes, plus the storehouses, barracks and supporting buildings required for a large town. It contains beautiful examples of French architecture from the time of the French settlement. The harbor could contain 150 ships. The place must have been huge. The original wall of the fortress extended for 2.5 miles. The reconstruction, though large, extends for a few hundred yards.

    Though others will visit the fort today, we chose, rather, tour the bay on a Zodiac with 7 other couples. Not only did we see the fort from the outside, we also saw gray seals and a cormorant rookery on some rocks out in the bay. The weather has calmed, so we had smooth water and temperatures around 60°. A quiet boat ride around a glassy bay is a wonderful way to start the day.    Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    Special Ops Boat
    Rigged and ReadyExtreme Northern Tip of Appalachians

    Special Operations

    September 28 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Several years ago, the United States Marine Corps at the New River facility in North Carolina developed a super powerful special operations boat. Each one can be dropped by parachute from an airplane, can travel up to 50 miles an hour and can hold 10 marines. The special operations boat can stop within two boat lengths. It is powered by two 450 hp Volvo Penta engines. The design for this was shared with the NATO allies of the United States, and now the boats for our European allies are made in Finland. Torstein Hagen, CEO of Viking Cruises, saw these boats and wanted them for his expedition ships. He added half a million dollars worth of extra equipment, such as shock absorbers on each seat. Now both of the expedition ships have two of these boats on board. Today we got to ride in one. Our pilot took it outside the bay into the Atlantic Ocean and opened ’er up. It was an absolute blast! I only wish Glenda’s father, an avid power boater, could have enjoyed the ride with us.

    We retraced the course we took this morning on the Zodiac around the old fortress, but as we passed the old 1734 lighthouse, a fellow passenger, a geologist, spoke up. He told us that the spit of land on which the lighthouse sits is made of rock totally unlike the surrounding rock. In fact it is the northern tip of a mass of rock that was pushed northward the last time North America and Africa banged up against each other. “What we see here,” he said, “is the extreme northern tip of that mass of rock we call the Appalachian Mountains.”

    Whodathunkit?    Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    Site of 1917 Explosion
    Downtown HalifaxHalifax BoardwalkHalifax BoardwalkHalifax BoardwalkDowntown HalifaxMemorial on BoardwalkFairview Lawn CemeteryFairview Lawn CemeteryGraves of the Titanic VictimsFairview Lawn CemeteryFairview Lawn CemeteryFairview Lawn CemeteryPeggy's CovePeggy's CovePeggy's CovePeggy's CovePeggy's Cove in April 2025Lobster Roll

    Historic Halifax

    September 29 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    The ocean meets the land here in Nova Scotia as in few other places in the world. The people here have always made their living by the sea. Some go to sea to harvest fish or the best lobster in the world. Others run the boats providing transportation of goods, services or people. Halifax is unique because it sticks way out into the Atlantic Ocean. Standing here, I am closer to Ireland than at any other point in North America.

    The geology here is amazing too. Before the Wisconsin Ice Age these rough boulders were part of Morocco and Wales. Every part of the coastline here looks like the most beautiful seascape you have ever seen. The views are breathtaking. The seafood is delicious. At Peggy’s Cove Glenda had the best lobster roll she ever tasted.

    Halifax is changing rapidly, though. Its population has been stable throughout this century. Now, however, the city is absorbing about 2000 new residents every month. This rapid rise in population is placing a bit of a strain on the health care system and the schools here.

    Despite the many assets Halifax offers its residents, two tragedies connected with this place stand out. The 700 survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912 were brought here. So were the victims. They are buried in the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, which we visited today.

    The day after the sinking, three ships were sent out to recover human remains. Each ship carried its crew, a coroner and a clergyman. Only the first ship found any remains, and partial bodies or those too badly mutilated were given burial at sea. The one mortuary in town arranged for cold rooms to be set up so that bodies might be preserved. For weeks other human remains washed ashore on Prince Edward Island or on Cap-aux-Meules. They were also brought to Halifax. Some corpses had to stay here for eight years until they could be shipped back to their homes. There is still a Titanic Foundation that uses DNA and other advanced technology to identify some of the remains.

    Some interesting things I learned about the Titanic on our excursion make it even more troubling and devastating. Because the wealthy folks wanted to be able to promenade around the deck the White Star Company decided to remove over 2/3 of the lifeboats. They originally had 46 lifeboats which could've held everyone on the ship, but they reduced it to 12 so that the wealthy and the famous could stroll around the deck and show off their finery. Another thing that added to the tragedy is that the White Star Line management insisted that he sail through what is called Iceberg Alley, the shortest route. The captain agreed, provided he could go through the treacherous route in daylight and at reduced speed. They were delayed by about 12 hours leaving on the cruise, but the company insisted that he continue on at night through Iceberg Alley to save time. They also ordered him to increase his speed by three knots over the normal cruising speed of the ship. He did this under protest and we know the final result.

    The very basic monuments you see in Halifax in the cemetery were paid for by the shipping company who did not want to spend a lot of money on each of the headstones. Only people who had some money were able to put up a better headstone for their family. If the body was found, but no name given to the body that's when you just see the date of death.

    The bandsmen had uniforms with 10 brass buttons. The White Star Company provided the uniforms, but the cost of the expensive engraved buttons was gradually deducted from each musician’s monthly pay. One member of the ship’s band was killed in the sinking of the Titanic. The shipping company sent a bill to his father for the 10 buttons that he had not paid for when he drowned. An Irish newspaperman published this news, and the story hit the front pages of newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic. The company backed down on charging the musician’s father for the brass buttons, but the damage had been done. Already discredited, the stock of the White Star Line plummeted, and soon the Cunard Company bought its rival company for Pennie’s on the dollar.

    Five years later on December 6, 1917, a munitions ship, tied to 200 other munitions ships was leaving the harbor. It had a slight collision with another vessel and caught fire. Unable to extinguish the blaze, the captain and crew abandoned ship and left the burning hulk to drift. Word spread that a ship was burning in the harbor and many folks went to the dockside to see it. Security measures prevented publication of the contents of any of the warships involved in World War I so no one realized the danger. When these munitions ships reached Pier #6 they exploded with a force greater than that of either of the atomic bombs ending World War II. The explosion instantly vaporized over 2000 people and flattened more than half of the city. It set up a tsunami that traveled out of the mouth of St. Margaret’s Bay and into the Atlantic Ocean. Another 10,000 people in the city instantly died, and only the bowl-shaped topography of the city prevented all of Halifax from being destroyed. Hills surrounding the harbor deflected the blast upward rather than outward. Otherwise, the entire city would have been flattened.

    Today there is no sign of these tragedies. Fairview Lawn Cemetery is a beautiful and quiet place to meditate. The site of the explosion is filled with container ship docks, a shipbuilding facility, and a Canadian Navy base. Halifax is a thriving, forward-looking, multicultural city. The city is booming and is looking forward to good things to come.    Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers

    Sea Day

    September 30 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    Sea Day

    What do you do on a sea day as you sail toward Norfolk? Well, Viking planned a barbecue on deck six with potato salad and coleslaw and tossed salad and corn on the cob and jerk chicken wings and ribs and beef brisket. So of course, we ate lunch.

    I’ve spent the rest of the day doing laundry and reading a book and Chuck has been chatting with a passenger who wants to discuss theology.

    We have a spider outside our window that has been with us since Toronto. I have named him Verrazano. He hides in the crevices during the morning and night, but comes out around 2 o’clock every afternoon. He seems to be hanging in there, so hopefully he will make it to Fort Lauderdale and then disembark to safety. This ship is sailing all the way to Antarctica so I sure hope he gets off before he hits the freezing weather in Antarctica.    Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    1

    Off the Coast of New Jersey

    October 1, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 68 °F

    Today is a sea day, and it’s a good thing! We are off the coast of New Jersey going through what the Skipper called a “low pressure” area. Of course the Weather Channel, with its usual exaggeration, is making this storm sound like the hurricane of the century. The truth is somewhere in the middle. When I awoke this morning around 6 am, my Vessel Tracker showed winds at 55-60 knots, and the frothy whitecaps on the blue ocean were beautiful. The ship is rocking, but we have been on rougher seas several times before. But we’re safely ensconced down in an unknown lounge called “The Hide,” where we can see the waves breaking over the bow of the ship. The coffee is hot, the conversation is good and we’re having a great time.Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    The Sail-In at Dawn
    Norfolk HarborUSS Wisconsin BB-64Shoots Shells the Size of a VolkswagenOne of the Mess HallsDemonstration PantryEnlisted Sailors' QuartersBusiness OfficeNCIS OfficeChow LineLibraryPergola in Norfolk Botanical GardensStatuary AlleéMermaid-Symbol of NorfolkCrape Myrtle AlleéGray Heron1The Two Luckiest People in the World

    War and Peace in Norfolk

    October 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    With apologies to Leo Tolstoy, the title of his great work covers pretty well what we did today. We sailed in this morning past the U. S. Naval Base in Norfolk, the largest in the world. Just southeast of us sits Naval Air Station Oceana, where all of the Navy jets stay when their aircraft carriers are in port. We can see shipyards around our pier building a dozen new warships.

    Much of the afternoon was spent examining in detail the remarkably huge battleship USS Wisconsin BB-64. Built originally in World War II, she was called back into service in Korea, Vietnam, and most recently in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq in 1991. While she is now on static display in Norfolk, she is not completely mothballed, so that if the government ever needs a battleship, she can be fired up and retrofitted for service. When considering the cramped quarters and the dangerous missions she undertook, it’s hard not to project oneself into the scenario experienced by the sailors and marines who made their home in her labyrinthine compartments. Onboard there is a place for every activity any city enjoys. In addition to battle stations, there is a post office, a dental clinic, a school, three mess halls, communications centers, a surgical ward, a fire station, a police station, a gym, a library, a chaplain—you name it.

    The other part of our day was much more peaceful. Norfolk hosts one of the best botanical gardens in North America. Beginning in the 1930’s the Works Progress Administration hired African American women and men to convert a swamp into Norfolk’s “Azalea Garden.” Now there are not only azaleas, but flowers, trees, and shrubs from all over the world, all arranged in an idyllic setting as lovely as the Garden of Eden. The Norfolk Botanical Gardens also maintains educational programs, training amateur and professional botanists from near and far. As beautiful as the ocean may be, it was good to spend a few hours back on land amid such lovely roses, hydrangeas, loblolly pines, magnolias, and crape myrtles.    Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    1Rainbow Row
    A Great Way to See CharlestonA Charleston Single HouseA Wedding at City HallCity Hall, Formerly the Bank of the United StatesOne of Charleston's Lovely DoorwaysLovely Subtropical Gardens AboundFlemish Bond 18th cent. HomeA Beautiful Private GardenFran at WorkWrought Iron EverywhereWonderful Window BoxesNathaniel Russell's StairwayNathaniel Russell's Informal ParlorChuck in N. Russell's Dining RoomNathaniel Russell's Initials in Wrought Iron Over the DoorBells of St. Michael's Inspired Gershwin's Porgy & BessSweet-grass BasketsCooper River BridgeUSS Yorktown & Sailing ClassU. S. Custom House

    So How Are the Viking Tours?

    October 4 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    Today’s visit to Charleston, SC was an interesting experiment for us. It’s not that we don’t know the city. We have visited here regularly since 1984, and at one point even considered moving here. There was a period in my ministry when the Medical University of South Carolina was the closest hospital, and I came down here several times each week. And besides all of that, anyone who knows me will tell you my history genes are on steroids. We know Charleston.

    We know it well.

    What interested me today is this: I suppose that on our river and ocean cruises with Viking, we have been on nearly a thousand tours: cities, wineries, farms, kitchens, museums, art galleries, concert halls, churches—you name it. This morning Glenda said, “We know Charleston. We have been here hundreds of times. Do you want to cancel our excursion to Charleston? For us, it’s like being home again.”

    At first I was inclined to agree with her, but then I thought. “No, let’s go on the excursion, and let’s pretend we don’t know this city. Let’s see whether Viking and their associates in the tourism business do a good job of giving strangers an adequate introduction to places tourists have never been before.”

    We started out with a general bus tour of the city under our guide, Roy, a native of Charleston who has worked with several historical organizations before completing the rigid certification required of tour guides. His knowledge and articulate presentation are amazing. He took us to the College of Charleston and the Citadel first, explaining in lucid detail the part these organizations have played in the life of the city. On the campus he showed us the grave of General Mark Clark, one of my heroes, and a longtime resident of Charleston. While he was still living, we used to pass by his house, which bordered the Citadel Campus, just to offer a silent salute. As our bus moved through the city Roy pointed out locations where important battles, disasters and historical events occurred. He discussed the wealth of this city before the Civil War and did not shy away from examining the important place African-Americans played in its history. He explained how Charleston did not begin to recover from the economic disasters of the Civil War until President Theodore Roosevelt put a naval base here in the early 20th century. The Great Depression was another economic kick in the head relieved only by World War II. The federal government is still the city’s largest employer.

    The second part of our visit was a walking tour under the capable guidance of Fran, a veteran tour guide, whose family has lived here since colonial days. We walked the streets to see the Charleston single houses and their beautiful gardens in more detail. She discussed the rigid rules of the Board of Architectural Review. We marveled at the infinite variety of the front doors of the houses. She showed us where George Washington stayed, and where George Gershwin got the idea for Porgy and Bess. We saw the palatial hotels where notables such as Theodore Roosevelt, Alexander Graham Bell, and Henry Ford lodged during their visits. She pointed out that up until the Civil War, the per capita income in Charleston was higher than in any other American city. She gave us examples of how life was like before the Civil War, after the cataclysm, and in the early 20th century when poverty was palpable here. She shared her considerable knowledge of the plants and gardens that make this city a horticultural fairyland. Finally we took a detailed tour of the Nathaniel Russell House, a residence whose classical beauty matches anything I have ever seen on either side of the Atlantic.

    So the question Glenda and I started with was, “If we knew nothing about the South, would we consider the tour today an adequate introduction to Charleston?”

    Our answer is an emphatic “YES!” It was not an exhaustive tour, but in the time we were allowed it could not possibly be so. I have been reading and talking with historians about this place for decades, and I am still learning. Even so, the tour we got today would give a person from a different part of the country a reasonably good introduction to Charleston and the powerful contribution this city made to the culture and history of the Carolinas. It also leads me to believe that the thousand other tours we have taken with Viking have probably given us a fair and reasonable overview of the countries we have visited over the last ten years.

    Many thanks to Roy, Fran, and to the folks at Viking who provided such a thorough and balanced introduction to my homeland. We had a great day in Charleston.    Read more

  • In the Wake of the Explorers
    Seafood Buffet in Charleston
    Cooking DemonstrationCake BuffetPolaris Sail-outWaiting for the Airplane

    Heading home

    October 4 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    We have disembarked the ship in Fort Lauderdale. Our flight to Charlotte leaves about 11:50 am and we should land in Charlotte around 2 PM. After a quick visit with Angela we will head home to Asheboro. I will post a few random photos during the sea day at the end of the cruise It's good to be going home, but it was a lovely trip.Read more

    Trip end
    October 6, 2025
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