Did you know that both Mother's and Father's Days are national holidays?  Of course they are always celebrated on Sundays, so they are not a federal holiday.  President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation in 1914 designating  Mother's Day  as the second Sunday in May.  Of course motherhood has long been cherished, and the ancient Greeks and Romans held festivals in honor of mother godesses Rhea and Cybele. Mind you, the Greeks and Romans also honored fathers, and in Catholic Europe, St. Joseph's Day ( March 19 ) is a feast day dedicated to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus.  But Father's Day in the USA had a rather startling beginning that few know. First, Father's Day did not become a national holiday until 1972. The reason why has everything to do with civil rights movements in the 1960s. The story starts in 1964 when a middle-aged father and mid-level federal appointee, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, dreamt a solution to America's racial conflict in his sle...

We spent 36 days on the Norwegian Encore: Launched in November of 2019, but suspended less than a year later because of the pandemic. Cost:  $1 billion. Maximum speed of 25 knots. 4000 passengers and 2100 crew. Godmother:  Kelly Clarkson. First stop, San Francisco: Next stops were Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo.  Very hot outside.  View from our veranda docked in Puerto Vallarta.  Remember the TV series  Love Boat ?  Came here now and then. The movie,  10 , was partly filmed in Manzanillo.  Next, Acapulco.  View from our lanai.  Kind of looks like Waikiki from a distance. From Mexico to Guatemala.  On the Encore is The Cavern Club, a smaller entertainment room which looks like where The Beatles began in Liverpool.  We saw them in the main theater and here a few times. This room is also where karaoke sessions were nightly held. The Social Club served as our disco room. Guatemala to Costa Rica.  Didn't g...