I've divided our 5-week trip into three phases: Part 1:  Iceland and the Azamara Journey cruise to watch the Total Solar Eclipse. Part 2:  Our stops in Montreal and Vancouver. Part 3:  Silverseas Silver Whisper cruise from Vancouver to Honolulu. But before I finish with Part 3, some news of the day. The war between the U.S. and Iran: The estimate, which covers the war’s direct costs through Aug. 1, is in line with the Pentagon’s most recent public accounting from July, when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress that the war had cost $37.5 billion. A later report from the Defense Department's inspector general determined that the conflict cost an estimated $33.4 billion between February 28 and June 30.   But the new CBO analysis finds that the price of the war is continuing to rise, estimating that the government will spend another $2 billion to $3 billion each month the conflict continues. It also notes that the war has significantly depleted U.S. munition...

The Silver Whisper left Kahului, Maui and has just moored outside of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii.  Our arrival.  That steeple below is Mokuaikaua Church, founded in 1820 as the first Christian church in Hawaii.  The walls are mostly made from lava rock, with the motar from burned coral.  The interior features native 'ōhi'a wood.  Open to the public.  Contains various artifacts, such as a scale model of the Thaddeus, the ship that brought the original missionaries to Hawaii. At one time, Tropical Storm Norbert was headed straight for Hawaii and looked ominous. Now at 60 MPH, Norbert will not even reach hurricane strength, and should begin to weaken early next week, with a path that should pass south of the Big Island,  Predicted to beome a post-tropical remnant low, south of the Hawaiian Islands. It will take time for Kauai to recover from the destruction caused by Hurricane Lowell this past Monday night into Tuesday.  At one time, 90...