On the Wine Train

Touring beautiful Napa Valley.

On the Napa Valley Wine Train

Enjoying great food, wine and scenery!

San Francisco: Early Morning

City views from the deck of the Celebrity Century.

San Francisco Sunrise

The Celebrity Century docked in the Golden Gate City at about 6 AM this morning...in time for me to capture a pretty sunrise.

Celebrity Century Views

Here are a few views around the Celebrity Century including the grand staircase, Martini bar and hot tub/pool area. The ship looks nice, but it will be leaving the Celebrity fleet next year as the company continues to introduce new, larger, Solstice Class vessels.

A Day At Sea

Today we're at sea aboard the Celebrity Century...our first of two sea days. The photo shows the Century anchored at Catalina Island yesterday.

Kelp Diving in Catalina

Yesterday I went scuba diving in a kelp forest on Catalina Island. The water was cool in the 50s deep and 60s at the surface, so I used a full, thick 1/4" wetsuit including hood and boots and enough weight to get me and my rig down to the bottom, over 25 lbs. Kelp grows from the seafloor to the surface and when you dive you swim through it like walking through a forest on land. Unfortunately, I didn't have my underwater camera housing with me so I couldn't take my own photos on the dive. However, here are some images from my great dive shop's web site that show what my experience was like. The bright orange fish are called Garibaldi, I saw lots of them. I also saw a Moray eel like the one in the photo. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Luckily, I happened upon one of the best scuba diving operators I have ever worked with, Ron Moore, of Ron Moore's Dive Catalina, who made it possible for me to enjoy the dive even though I had only a couple of hours before the ship sailed. Thanks, Ron!

Images copyright Rob Fazio 2012 and used with permission.

Kelp close up

Great Adventures On Santa Catalina Island

Known as a playground of the rich, Catalina is a remarkably pretty island situated some 26 miles off the coast of California near Los Angeles. After we docked in the morning Dan went on an excursion to the botanical garden, saw the Wrigley Memorial, and toured around the town of Avalon. We met up around noon and enjoyed a look at the remarkable “Casino,” a movie and show palace built in the 1920s. The nearby museum has lots of historical exhibits and photographs of the many Hollywood celebrities who frequented the island. In the morning Jim took a power boat a couple of miles out to sea from Avalon, the only incorporated town on Catalina Island, to observe wildlife. We quickly located several pods of dolphins. We then encountered several huge sunfish. Finally we visited a colony of sea lions not so busy basking themselves on a deserted beach. They do this to warm their body temperature after a night of swimming and feeding in the nearby cold waters. There were also many brown pelicans nearby. In the afternoon Jim went scuba diving, a special treat, in the beautiful underwater kelp forest that grows from the seafloor to the surface. There is an abundance of sea life in the protected kelp sanctuary. In addition to colorful native fish like the bright orange Garibaldi, Jim saw a shy octopus and a couple of Moray eels. So far, visiting Catalina Island turned out to be an unexpected spectacular highlight of the cruise.--Jim

Sunday Am: Catalina Island

Dan reads in bed Sunday morning as the ship anchors off of Catalina Island. Looks like a beautiful day ahead!

Underway On The Celebrity Century

On Saturday morning we took a shuttle from our hotel in Hollywood across Los Angeles to the port of San Pedro, where we boarded the Celebrity Century for our eight day Gold Rush Pacific Coast Tour. It was a beautiful afternoon as the ship left port passing by the USS Iowa museum on the way out to sea. Later we assembled with our group of about 50 other gay men who are also members of our contingent organized by Pied Piper travel. Sunday we will be anchored off of Catalina Island. We'll do excursions and then enjoy a day at sea on board the ship on Monday.