Although we knew that the remnants of Hurricane Gustav were headed our way and arranged our camp for minimal mess breaking camp in the rain, it was still a messy affair. We had to return to the laundry room to dry our bedding before heading out. The rain dampened our spirits a bit as we walked through Lincoln’s Springfield neighborhood and toured his house but it was still an incredible experience. We left town earlier than we might have and headed west rather than north just to get out of the rain sooner. We stopped briefly in New Salem but then ended up in Nauvoo on the banks of the Mississippi and spent the night in a motel getting our gear a little better organized.
It was an incredible experience to actually walk the streets of Pompeii, once a bustling resort town in the Roman Empire until 79 AD when an apocalyptic explosion buried it under 20 feet of volcanic ash. Archeological excavations since the 19th Century continue to reveal evidence of a thriving community.
Once the largest cruise ship in the world, Allure of the Seas will be our home for the next seven nights as we cruise the Western Mediterranean and explore the eighteen decks of this behemoth.
Our recent travel misadventures seriously curtailed our time in Rome pre-cruise but we did get to visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel before making the trip to Civitavecchi for an overnight in the port city of Rome preparatory to departing on Allure of the Seas tomorrow.
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