Family stories say that Karen’s great grandfather lied about his age in order to sign up to fight for the Confederacy even as his father was an officer in the Union army. Records we found on the Fold3 website indicated he fought and was taken prisoner at Vicksburg. When we visited the national military park we found that trying to learn where he fought was an exercise in frustration. It will require more research more research and a return visit. On the other hand by listening to the ranger talk at the USS Cairo Museum, we learned a lot about ironclad battleships on the Mississippi River.
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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