Travel – Page 4 – DAK Living- Dave and Karen exploring the world!

Well, DaK finally took a Viking Ocean Cruise after 3 Viking River Cruises. Viking once again exceeded our expectations. The Viking Jupiter’s cleanliness and service was outstanding! The only disadvantage we found with the Ocean Cruise (vs the river cruise) was that a couple of the ports were inconvenient to get off and on the ship at our leisure.

Our 12-day cruise itinerary included stops in Stockholm Sweden (overnight), Mariehamn (Finland territory), Gotland (Visby) Sweden, Gdansk Poland, Kariskrona Sweden, Bornholm (Ronne) Denmark, Warnemunde (excursions to Rostock or Berlin) Germany, Aarhus Denmark, and Copenhagen Denmark (overnight). After the cruise we decided to spend an additional 6 days in Copenhagen, on our own, taking advantage of the Viking Air “stop over” option. We really got to know the Copenhagen region (Zealand) of Denmark in the 8 days we were there.

March 24, 2023July 17, 2023

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Jekell Island – Splendid Isolation

Another glorious few weeks spent on Jekyll Island, GA this year. “Splendid Isolation” a book by Pamela Mueller, accurately describes our time on Jekyll. We got to know the island even better this year as we explored many of the nooks and crannies in addition to taking two narrated tours from the islands Mosaic Museum.

The weather started out as predicted in January, mostly highs in the 60’s with a day or two in the 70’s. But February was warmer than expected with some days pushing 80 starting mid-month. That warmer weather brought out the gnats, which were a bit of a nuisance on some days. But one can’t complain considering the winter weather back in Michigan.

Once again, we stayed at the Residence Inn, by Marriott. This time in a 1st floor ocean view suite. The tradeoff was convenience (mostly for our bikes and laundry) vs. a birds eye view of the ocean.

March 20, 2023July 17, 2023

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St. Augustine, FL

Continuing south from Charleston, we spent 4 days in St. Augustine. Our stay at the Courtyard by Marriott in St. Augustine Beach was nice and was a short one block walk to the ocean. Aside from biking and walking the historic district, our three highlights in St. Augustine included the Nights of Lights, Old Coast Ales Brewery, and Fort Matanzas. Many online reviews rate the St. Augustine Nights of Lights among the best holiday light shows in the country. We’d have to agree.

On our bike ride from the Courtyard Hotel to historic St. Augustine (along A1A), we happened upon Old Coast Ales Brewery. We would put it in our top tier breweries! The El Galeon BBA Stout (14% A.B.V.), the Port of Call Porter, and the No A’Postrophe (Red) we’re our favorites. The street tacos at Osprey Tacos were excellent and reasonably priced to compliment the fantastic beers. They conveniently shared and outdoor patio with the brewery.

On our last full day in St. Augustine, we rode our bikes, from the Courtyard to Fort Matanzas (20 miles round trip). Fort Matanzas was completed in 1742 to warn St. Augustine of approaching enemies and was part of the early Spanish empire. The tour was conducted by the National Park Service and included a short ferry ride to the fort and a narrative tour of the fort by the park rangers. It was all free of charge.

March 13, 2023July 16, 2023

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We have been Road Tripping all Winter! Our first stop was in Charleston, S.C.

As you know, long, dark winters in Michigan can be agonizing so we try to get away soon after the holidays and travel to a warmer part of the country. This year we wanted to experience Jekyll Island again, so in January we took off and headed south. Our first stop was an overnighter to rest. We picked a winner because in Williamsburg are the Cumberland Falls and they were beautiful! After a one-night stay in Williamsburg, KY (where we had time to quickly see Cumberland Falls) we continued our journey south to Charleston, SC.