The Story Behind Key West’s Famous Free-Roaming Roosters

Above, one of Key West's feathered inhabitants wandering in a restaurant. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Back in 2019, a friend and I took a cruise to Havana, Cuba. Along the way, we stopped in Key West, Florida for a few hours.

While in Key West, I took a tour of the Hemingway House and toured the Shipwreck Museum along with shopping.

I stopped at a bar/restaurant for a break. While there, I noticed chickens walking around the tables. 

Southern Living posted an article on Key West's famous wild roosters that wander the streets.

They begin it with:

If you’ve ever strolled the quirky streets of Key West, you’ve seen them. Between pastel homes, Duval Street bars, palm trees, and the Southernmost Point, a population of loud, proud roosters struts and scratches across roads, down sidewalks, and even, occasionally, through traffic.

Florida’s version of pesky pigeons in city parks, the free-roaming roosters and hens of Key West are as naturalized a citizen as any, and a colorful symbol of the freewheeling spirit of the Conch Republic. Sometimes celebrated, always tolerated, the wild birds are as much a part of Key West as sunset celebrations and key lime pie.

To read more, go here.

Protect Your RV Every Time You Plug In

RVs (trailers and motorhomes) are loaded with electronics that could get damaged during a sudden power surge. This is especially so of they are plugged into an outlet that may get a sudden surge from a lightning strike.

That is why surge protectors are necessary to protect one's RV electrical system and appliances when plugged in. I use mine when I store my RV in its garage and it is plugged in.

RV Life has posted an article on protecting RVs every time they are plugged in.  

They begin with:

Plugging into shorepower is one of the most routine parts of setting up camp, but the power at the pedestal is not always predictable. An RV electrical protection device should be used every time the rig connects to outside power. That includes campgrounds, a home outlet, an RV storage facility, and yes, even a generator (if compatible).

The reason is simple. Every connection introduces a new power source, and electrical conditions can change after the RV is plugged in. A pedestal that worked during a previous stay may now have a worn receptacle, loose wire, missing ground, or damaged neutral. Voltage that looks normal in the morning can drop when campground demand rises, or it may climb when a utility problem develops.

A surge protector or electrical management system (EMS) provides a layer of protection between those conditions and the RV’s converter, inverter/charger, refrigerator, A/C equipment, microwave, TVs, and electronic control boards. The two product types do not always provide the same protection, but either must be connected to do its job.

 To read more, go here.

Streetcar A-Bomb Damaged Now Used For Tours In Hiroshima

Above, a Nagasaki streetcar in 2007. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I visited Hiroshima in 2004 with G-TOUR, we mainly confined our visit to the Atomic Bomb Museum and the Atomic Bomb Dome. 

At the time, I did not see any streetcars there. A few years later, I did see streetcars in Nakasaki when I visited it. They reminded me of old Los Angeles when streetcars were operating. They were removed in 1963 in favor of buses.

There is one streetcar in Hiroshima that did survive, although damaged, the atomic bomb. It is now being used for tours.

According to The Japan Times:

HIROSHIMA – A tour offering views of Hiroshima’s reconstruction following the U.S. atomic bombing 81 years ago aboard a streetcar that survived the blast started Sunday.

The tour uses Hiroshima Electric Railway’s streetcar No. 653, which was damaged in the blast on Aug. 6, 1945, in the closing days of World War II.

The streetcar resumed operations four months later after undergoing emergency repairs, and became a symbol of the city’s reconstruction. It is still operated for special events, with its livery restored to that at the time of the bombing.

The latest tour will run a total of 19 times on weekends and holidays through Oct. 31, on a loop line that opened in March.

To read more, go here. 

We Are Hanging Up The Keys and Aging Out of Our RV

Above, at Arches National Park in Utah last summer. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky.

Sooner or later, each of us will be so old that we can no longer do the things that were once easy to do.

Fortunately, I have not reached that point... yet! But there will come a time that I may not be able to drive my motorhome for long road trips. I managed to do a long trip last summer with a friend to Utah, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and Colorado at age 71. Taking one's time with more days to do so is a big help.

But there are some RV enthusiasts that have reached that are "aging out" of the RV game. 

Nanci Dixon posted an article on this at RV Travel.

She begins with:

A few weeks ago, I wrote about our RV seemingly falling apart on our trip to Minnesota and lamented all the work and maintenance it required. I even said that I was at the point of selling it in Minnesota and renting a small U-Haul trailer to take our too-much-stuff back to Arizona.

Aging out

It is not just the maintenance and massive costs of gas, insurance, and license; we are getting older. My husband just doesn’t have the stamina, eyesight, or reaction time to drive “Miss Ruth Brown” thousands of miles each year anymore. I never thought we would age out; I thought it was other people that aged out. I should be glad he is aware of his limitations, but still wish it wasn’t so. I am faced with the ultimatum of downsizing our rig, or I agree to drive it.

Above, camping at the Moab, Utah KOA Kampground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read the full article, go here. 

5 Cruise Lines That Just Aren't Worth It Anymore

Above, yours truly enjoying an adult beverage on a cruise to the Bahamas two years ago.

Although I have been on three cruises in my life (Alaska, Cuba, Bahamas), it is not my favorite mode of travel and it never has been. RVing is.  

That being said, I did enjoy those cruises. But I noticed that the cruise lines passengers are being nickel-and-dimed, especially on adult beverages and food. People are starting to feel that cruises just aren't worth it anymore.

AOL posted an article on five cruise lines that aren't worth it anymore. I have cruised on two of the five.

They begin it with:

Cruising built its reputation on being the closest thing to an all-inclusive vacation. One fare covers endless food, a cabin that moves between destinations while you sleep, and entertainment every night. That reputation is getting harder to defend. Across several of the biggest names in the industry, gratuities have climbed, drink and dining packages have shrunk, and small perks that used to come standard now carry a price tag. For anyone trying to travel on a budget, the gap between what a cruise fare promises and what actually shows up on the final bill has never been wider.

None of this is guesswork or internet grumbling. It's a pattern of dated, documented fee increases and cutbacks announced across major lines over the past several months, backed by passenger surveys, company emails, and industry reporting. Here's a look at the cruise lines where the numbers back up what passengers have been saying. While these cruise lines still appeal to many travelers, recent fee hikes and shrinking inclusions mean they may no longer deliver the value they once did.

To read the full article, go here. 

Are Casino Carpets Ugly On Purpose?

Above, a casino in Nassau, Bahamas. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Here's a topic I've never thought about.

Are casino carpets ugly on purpose to keep people gambling? 

That is the topic of an article in RV Travel. Frankly, I figured that they are designed the way they are to hide spills. 

The article begins with:

Many RVers like to stop at casinos on their trips. They stop for a buffet, or sometimes to stay overnight in a casino RV park or for free in a parking lot. And, yes, some like to gamble. If that’s you, have you ever noticed that the carpeting in at least some of those casinos is gaudy, even ugly? 

In Las Vegas, one of the most enduring gambling myths is that the loud, colorful carpets in casinos are designed to keep people gambling longer. Is that true?

To read the full article, go here. 

Japanese Yen Surges to ¥157

We are now in a new month and we're still in the summer vacation season, so it is time to see how the U.S. dollar is faring against the Japanese yen in foreign exchange.

Japan Today reported:

NEW YORK - The Japanese yen briefly surged to the lower 157 level against the U.S. dollar in New York on Friday, with Japanese government sources confirming a yen-buying, dollar-selling intervention by currency authorities.

Trading at 157.24 per dollar for a brief span, the yen hit its strongest level since mid-May.

To read more, go here. 

Hoover Dam Currently Closed

Above, Hoover Dam in November 2020. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I have been to Hoover Dam twice in my life.

The first time was with two friends in 1973. We took the tour that had us go down inside the dam to the machinery area. The second time was in 2018 with a couple of friends. We didn't take any tours but walked around the top of the dam.

If one is planning on visiting Hoover Dam, you have to delay your visit as it is closed to visitors currently.

According to RV Travel:

If Hoover Dam is on your Southwest RV itinerary this summer, you’ll want to adjust your plans. One of the West’s most popular roadside attractions remains closed to visitors. Read on to find out why.

What happened?

The first shutdown began on July 27, 2026, after emergency road repairs blocked public access through the site. The latest closure, announced July 29, was triggered during routine maintenance when the massive transport cableway carriage moved unexpectedly. This prompted a second closure this week.

To read more, go here. 

Kumamoto Prefecture Hit By Earthquake

Above, Kumamoto Station in 2007. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture was rocked Tuesday by a 7.1 earthquake.

Japan is prone to having major earthquakes as it sits on the "Ring of Fire" of the Pacific. In 2010, a major quake hit the Tohoku Region of Japan that caused a huge tsunami.

I visited Kumamoto in April 2007. One of the places I visited was nearby Mount Aso.

According to Japan Today:

TOKYO - A major earthquake rocked Japan's southern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of homes, rupturing roads and injuring at least 50 people.

Speaking to reporters at ‌her office in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the full extent of casualties and damage from the 7.1 magnitude quake was still being assessed.

"We have already been informed that people have been injured," Takaichi said. "Power outages and ‌fires have occurred in some areas, and there has also been damage to ⁠roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings."

One hospital had reported more ⁠than 50 injuries, public ⁠broadcaster NHK said. Several people on a high-speed train at the time of the quake were also ‌injured, Nikkei newspaper said.

Multiple buildings were damaged, including an Aeon shopping mall that NHK said had suffered ⁠an explosion, while footage from the broadcaster also ⁠showed other buildings on fire or partially collapsed. A spokesperson for Aeon did not immediately have a comment on the situation.

 To read more, go here.

4 Best Hawaiian Luaus In Honolulu

Over the years, I have been to several luaus.

Most of them were political campaign events in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. I have been to one in Hawaii, the Big Kahuna Luau in Honolulu. They are defunct, the last I've heard.

Destinationless Travel has posted an article of their best luaus in Honolulu.

They begin it with:

Planning a trip to Honolulu and wondering which Hawaiian luau is actually worth booking? You’re in the right place!

I’ve attended quite a few luaus in Hawaii over the years, and I can tell you that choosing the right one makes a huge difference. The best experiences combine incredible Polynesian performances, delicious Hawaiian food, and cultural activities that help you learn more about the islands and their traditions.

Honolulu has several fantastic options, whether you want something convenient in Waikiki or a more traditional experience a little farther away. In this guide, I’m breaking down my four favorite luaus near Honolulu so you can easily decide which one is the best fit for your trip.

To read more, go here. 

Camper Left Food and Trash Outside, A Black Bear Paid The Price

Above, a black bear at Yellowstone Bear World in Idaho. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Just as stupid people shouldn't be allowed to vote, stupid people shouldn't be allowed to camp either. 

Neither of which will ever happen, but one has to wonder how some campers in Montana left food and garbage outside that attracted a black bear. Sadly, the bear had to euthanized. Incredibly, there was a bear-resistant storage box at the campsite for them to use.

Above, a bear-resistant storage container at a campsite in Yosemite National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

RV Travel posted an article on the aforementioned incident and why it is important to properly store food and garbage.

They begin it with:

Wildlife officials in Montana euthanized a black bear after it repeatedly raided campgrounds near Red Lodge. One of its last stops was an unattended campsite where food, cooking grease, dog food and garbage had reportedly been left outside, even though a bear-resistant storage box was available.

The incident is a sobering reminder that leaving food and trash unsecured in bear country isn’t simply untidy. It can teach bears that campgrounds are easy places to find meals, increasing the risk to everyone camping nearby.

To read the full article, go here. 

Monument Valley Tours Run Half-Empty

Above, the tour bus stopped at The Thumb during a
 sunrise tour I took in 2022. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In recent years, I have taken two guided tours of Monument Valley. Both were by open air bus originating from Goulding's Lodge. I also took a tour by horseback.

The Navajo Nation, in which Monument Valley is their tribal park, offers Jeep tours. It used to be necessary to make advance reservations as the tours were popular.

According to an article in Travelers Today, those tours have been running half-empty. The Goulding's Lodge tour I went on in 2022 was also half empty.

The article begins with: 

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is in the middle of its peak summer season, and something unusual is happening in the valley: the guided jeep tours that once required advance reservations are running at dramatically reduced capacity. The global drop in international travel to the United States has hit Navajo-owned tour operators at Monument Valley harder than almost anywhere else in the Southwest — and for a traveler arriving this summer, that creates a rare window of access, even as the park's fees are higher than ever and the Navajo Nation holds a presidential primary today that will shape its tourism policies through 2027.

Above, yours truly at a viewpoint during a sunrise tour in 2022.
The East Mitten and Merrick Butte are in the background.

To read more, go here. 

Your GPS Could Be Leading You Into Trouble

Above, on the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Whenever I am on an RV road trip, I take routes that are easily mapped.

I keep a RV road atlas in my motorhome and check routes with it before even leaving the driveway. After doing that, I use the free Google Maps app on my phone. I have never encountered any problems of any major consequence. One gitch was that a friend and I were using Google Maps to go to a restaurant but the directions were goofed up and we ended up circling around a Houston airport parking lot. We never found the restaurant.

There are some people who have encountered major glitch errors with the GPS system they're using. 

That is the topic of an article in RV Travel. 

They begin with:

Most RVers trust their RV GPS navigation. They also have at least one story about it being spectacularly wrong. Maybe it routed you toward a low bridge, down a dead-end road or to the back gate of a campground instead of the office. Chances are you caught the mistake before it became an expensive lesson. Not everyone does.

A recent highway closure involving a commercial truck that apparently followed GPS directions onto an unsuitable route is another reminder that navigation apps are remarkably helpful—but they aren’t perfect. While truck drivers have wrestled with bad GPS routing for years, RVers face many of the same challenges.

To read more, go here. 

RV Travel Guide To Petrified Forest National Park

Above, a couple of petrified logs in the park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Petrified Forest National Park in northern Arizona is the closest national park to my home in New Mexico. It is around 90 miles from home off Interstate 40.

It have visited it several times, mainly for a coffee or snack stop at the visitor center. The first extensive tour was just to the Painted Desert section of the park. The second extensiver tour was to the Petrified Forest. 

Above, the Painted Desert of Petrified Forest National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

RV Travel posted a guide to visiting Petrified Forest National Park. In their posting, they mentioned a couple of campgrounds in nearby Holbrook. There's a third one to consider: the Holbrook KOA Kampground. I have stayed there twice and have enjoyed it both times. There are no campground in the national park.

The RV Travel post begins with:

For RVers rolling through Northeastern Arizona, Petrified Forest National Park is one of those easy-to-reach, big-payoff stops.

Getting there

Petrified Forest National Park sits off Interstate 40 near Holbrook. The north entrance is at Exit 311, and the south entrance is reached from Highway 180.

Eastbound I-40 travelers should take Exit 285 into Holbrook and then follow Highway 180 South to the south entrance.

There is no public transportation to or within the park, so driving your own rig is the normal way in.

To read more, go here. 

How RVers Can Avoid Surprise Campground Electric Charges

Above, Route 66 RV Resort in Albuquerque. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Here's something that I haven't run into (yet!) while camping at an RV park.

It is (surprise) campground electric charges on top of the nightly camping fee.

According to RV Life:

Booking a full-hookup campsite used to guarantee unlimited power, water, and sewer for a single, flat nightly rate. But that guarantee is quickly fading. As more campgrounds quietly transition to smart meters for short-term reservations, the way we calculate the cost of a road trip is fundamentally changing.

But you don’t have to wait until a surprise bill busts your travel budget to take action. Taking control of your rig’s energy consumption and knowing exactly what to look for on booking pages can help offset these new fees. A few simple adjustments will keep your next vacation predictable and wallet-friendly.

To read more, go here. 

Japan Sees 2% Drop In Foreign Visitors

Above, Godzilla peers over buildings in Shinjuku. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Foreign visitors to Japan slowed during the first half of the year. This is seen as the first drop in foreign tourism in five years.

According to The Japan Times:

Japan welcomed around 21.1 million foreign visitors in the first six months of 2026, a 2.0% drop from last year and down for the first time in five years, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday.

While the first-half visitor tally topped 20 million for the second straight year, Japan saw a 56.4% drop in visitors from China as Beijing continues to call on its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan.

Of the 21.1 million visitors in the January-June period, 2.06 million visitors came from mainland China. Visitors from South Korea increased by 18.6% to 5.7 million, while those from Taiwan numbered around 4 million, up 20.9%.

To read more, go here. 

American Towns Tourists Ruined

Above, Key West, Florida was one of the towns named. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The term overtourism is something I first heard about in articles about Japan. Besides Japan, it now is applying to U.S. towns.

World Atlas has posted an article on American towns ruined by tourists. I have been to several of them over the years (Key West, Sedona, Moab, Jackson, Carmel-By-The-Sea, Estes Park) and I have to agree with their conclusions on them.

They begin with:

Ask people in a dozen American resort towns how they feel about tourism, and you will hear a version of the same story. Moab traded uranium mining for the crowds heading into Arches, and three million visitors a year now overload its water and sewer systems. Bar Harbor capped cruise disembarkations at 1,000 a day and has defended that limit in federal court since 2022. In Nantucket, the median home now runs about 3.5 million dollars, and the workers who keep the island running commute in by ferry. Each of these ten towns ahead bets on tourism, and each is now wrestling with what it won.

To read more, go here.

The Best Interstate Routes For Cross-Country Road Trips Rated

Above, westbound on Interstate 40 approaching Lupton, Arizona. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Let's see. The longest trip I've ever taken on Interstates has to be the trip to Metropolis, Illinois in 2019. I took Interstate 40 going east and Interstate 70 going west. 

The second longest has to be the trip from Des Moines, Iowa to Orange County, California in December. I took Interstates 35 and 40. 

RV Travel has posted an article on the best Interstate routes.

They begin it with:

In the video below, we join Kyle, aka the Geography King, for his countdown of the six best interstate routes for cross-country road trips. The “Geography King” is basing his picks on his experiences taking more than 20 cross-country trips, and counting.

The video focuses on interstate highways, as most major U.S. cities are near one. And, as the topic is crossing the country, it focuses on east/west routes. Kyle chose to feature six because, well, there are only six major routes that cross the United States. So, the competition for the six-best list was, in reality, not that tough.

Those six routes are Interstates 10, 20, 40, 70, 80, and 90. Of those six, know that I-20 does not officially completely go across the entire country, but goes 2/3 of the way before ending in Southwest Texas; and I-70 only goes about 3/4 of the way before it ends in Southwest Utah.

Be sure to watch the video. In addition to what you can expect to see along each route, our host shares some creative variations and alternative routes from each that let you see even more sites.

These are the order of Kyle’s preference of cross-country routes. Yours may be different. I know I can find interesting things to see almost ANYWHERE.

To see the video and to read more, go here. 

Visit Bodie

Above, the ghost town of Bodie. Mono County Tourism photo.

While heading home from a clampout in 1993, we stopped at the ghost town of Bodie, California.

It was my first time visiting it, but I had heard much about it over the years.

RV Travel has posted an article on Bodie, calling it "America's Best Ghost Town."

They start with:

If you planned to visit only one ghost town in your life, Bodie would be the one I would recommend. If you are a ghost town enthusiast, Bodie will no doubt be a highlight of your explorations. In the video below, Joel Greene of Our California takes us along on a tour of this fascinating but off-the-beaten-path Eastern California destination.

Bodie State Historic Park, near Bridgeport, CA (about an hour north of Mammoth), was once one of the wildest towns in the West.

Once you leave the highway, prepare for the last 13 miles of the trip to Bodie to be a winding dirt road. While the park is open year-round, they do not plow the roads in winter (but people do ski in, if you’re feeling ambitious).

To read more and see the video, go here.  

Consumer Reports: Worst Cruise Line Named

Above, the Norwegian Sky docked at Nassau. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

My experience with cruises is limited.

I have been on only three cruises in my life. The first was in 2001 to Alaska with Celebrity Cruises. The second was in 2019 to Cuba with Royal Caribbean. My third, and last, was to the Bahamas with Norwegian Cruise Line in 2024. 

I may not be the best source for reviews as I enjoyed each one (well, except for getting sick during the Alaska cruise). The food on each was good. No complaints here. The facilities on each ship was fine.

Consumer Reports has named the worst cruise line for 2026. Surprisingly (for me at least), they named Norwegian the worst in customer satisfaction. 

Above, the lobster dinner I paid $25 aboard the Norwegian Sky. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One thing stands out in my mind with Norwegian. It was buying a lobster tail (two of them) dinner for $25. I thought that was quite reasonable (like 1980s prices).

According to an article posted by AOL:

In an age of limitless vacation choices, picking a cruise to go on is tough. From the outside, so many of them seem to offer the exact same experience: great food, parties, entertainment, visits to some of the coolest ports, and amenities galore. But in January of 2026, Consumer Reports conducted a survey to find out which of the top cruises were the best ... and the worst. Surprisingly, the well-known Norwegian Cruise Line was at the very bottom in terms of customer satisfaction.

The survey had a sample size that makes these ratings hard to ignore. Based on experiences over the last three years, 18,850 respondents were asked to rate 19 cruise lines based on a variety of factors. Some of these factors were price-based, like value per dollar and price transparency; others were about experiences, such as excursions, meals, and entertainment. The ratings also factored in amenities and basic expectations, like cleanliness, cabin quality, and accessibility. According to this report, Norwegian Cruise Line has fallen behind the pack in almost every category. 

 To read the full article, go here.