With memories of our trip to Scotland and Norway with National Geographic/Lindblad, we decided to again board the Resolution for a two week trip to ports along Japan's coast. It was a great way to see a lot of Japan with overnight repositioning of the ship. We even got over to Korea.
The Resolution entered the fjords of Norway on May 8th, stopping in several small towns for hikes, pictures and history. Then on May 11th we left the ship in Bergen, spending the day walking the city, taking a funicular to the top of Foyen mountain above the city, and visiting museums. Next day, it was an all-day train ride to Oslo. During our 3 days in Oslo we had perfect, sunny weather for strolling the city and enjoying this clean, beautiful capital.
We left Ireland on April 30 and headed for Scotland. After a couple of days in Edinburgh and an excursion to Vindolanda along Hadrian’s Wall in Northern England we boarded the National Geographic ship, Resolution, and headed for the Orkney and Shetland Islands.
We planned for a year, then traveled for a month (mid April to mid May 2023) to Ireland, Scotland and Norway. Beauty, history, culture, food - not a vacation, but a life experience.
While we were in Palm Desert we went to the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, once during the day and another time at night. The zoo has animals that thrive in desert climates. It was interesting but kinda weird to see zebras and giraffes in Palm Desert. At night the gardens are open (by ticket) to see the “lanterns” which are huge lite-up structures, many of them with moving parts. The Living Desert Museum never had many visitors until they added the the zoo and “lanterns.” Now it has become quite the popular attraction. I think we’ll pass on going the next time we’re in PD - once was enough for us.
In March or April we often travel to Palm Desert to escape the winter chill in Ashland. There are a number of hikes we love. The photo above is in Palm Canyon, on the Agua Caliente tribal land. The water was flowing due to the many springs that dot this dry landscape.
