Click here to return to SHIPPING NEWS

PK POV
Peter Knego Blogs from DELTA QUEEN: Page One & two
 

Peter Knego Tells About The  DELTA QUEEN: http://www.maritimematters.com/deltaqueen-blog1.html
 

The lovely DELTA QUEEN at Paducah, Kentucky. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

SB DELTA QUEEN
Train Holidays/Uncommon Journeys
Hull built in 1925 by William Denny and Brothers, Limited, Dumbarton, Scotland, and disassembled Shipped to California Navigation and Improvement Company Shipyard, Stockton, California where steel hull was reassembled and four decks of wooden superstructure were added
Completed in 1927 for California Transportation Company
285 by 60 feet (9 foot draft)
3,360 gt
174 passengers (double occupancy)
Two 1919 Foster watertube boilers supplying steam to a cross compound condensing steam engine
19 by 28 foot stern wheel
2000 shp
7 miles per hour (12 maximum)
Maiden voyage Sacramento to San Francisco: 22 May 1927
October 1940 used by US Navy as troop accommodation in San Francisco Bay
1941 sold to Isbrandsten SS Co, N.Y. (sale later rescinded)
1941 commissioned by U.S. Navy as YARD FERRY BOAT 56 (troop capacity of 3,200) transporting troops in San Francisco Bay region until 1946
1946 laid up at Suisuin Bay
1946 sold to Greene Line
1947 crated over at Fulton Shipyard, Stockton, CA for voyage to New Orleans, LA
April 19, 1947 departed under tow for New Orleans
May 19, 1947 arrived New Orleans, uncrated
1947/8 converted for luxury river cruising at Dravo Shipyard, Pittsburgh, PA
1970 congressional bill signed to keep DELTA QUEEN exempt from 1966 SOLAS regulations (latest expires 2008)
1989 deemed National Historic Landmark
1990 hull enlarged to increase buoyancy and fuel capacity
note: sister vessel, DELTA KING, restored and serving as a floating hotel in Sacramento, CA

REPORT ONE: Tuesday, 5 July, 2006 (Hail, DELTA QUEEN!)

Facing forward in DELTA QUEEN's Betty Blake Lounge. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

My presence in the Betty Blake Lounge of the SB DELTA QUEEN is somewhat of an anomaly. Here I sit with luminescent laptop in this wonderful gallery like setting, lit by crystal incandescent chandeliers and furnished with overstuffed American colonial style furnishings and an assortment of "home town" knick knacks. There is a churning rumble of the paddlewheel, the sloshing of the Mississippi underneath our flat-bottomed hull, and the sound of footsteps on the metal decks outside. IÕve only been aboard for six hours, but am already falling in love with this grand old lady and her casual, familial atmosphere.

This latest journey began in St. Louis two nights ago in sweltering 93 degree heat and swamp-like humidity. I reached the Embassy Suites Hotel anticipating the arrival of DELTA QUEEN and MISSISSIPPI QUEEN yesterday morning. The two vessels were concluding an eleven night "steamboat race" from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Their descent upon St. Louis was scheduled in the late morning, hence my arrival from California the night prior.

The ADMIRAL's Art Deco stylings are best seen from an excursion boat. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

I requested a view of the Mississippi and was happy to discover President Casino's 374 by 92 foot ADMIRAL beneath my window, a wonderful Deco former ferryboat with a strong resemblance to Seattle's famous KALAKALA. She was built in 1907 as the ALBATROS (a railroad transfer vessel) and rebuilt between 1939 and 1940 into a streamlined 4,400 passenger excursion boat. In 1973, she was converted to diesel power and given screws in lieu of her paddlewheel, continuing in service until 1979 (many thanks to www.steamboats.org for the information). Somewhere in my collection at home, I had a vintage postcard view or two of her and imagine she must have been quite a spectacle in her heyday.

Saarinen's magnificent arch, facing upward. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

Not knowing where to be or when to catch the arrival of the two steamboats, I got up much earlier than I would have liked and walked down to the waterfront below Saarinen's spectacular Gateway Arch. As it was the 4th of July, the neighboring park was being heavily monitored by security and everyone entering was searched and scanned. A temporary stage was erected at the foot of the archway's steps as roadies set up equipment and lights for a Hootie and the Blowfish concert. It was sticky and uncomfortably hot at 9:00 AM, making the darkening gray skies beyond the river an almost welcome sight. I asked every security person and even a park ranger where the two boats would berth but no one seemed to know. So, up and down the waterfront, I continued, managing to sit out some very potent cloudbursts under tents that would soon accommodate makeshift junk food vendors.

At noon, I boarded the excursion boat TOM SAWYER for a cruise up the Mississippi. We passed the ADMIRAL at close range and continued past the power plant built for the St. Louis World's Fair. Another rainy deluge cleared the upper decks, forcing me into the crowded sheltered promenade for obstructed attempts at photography. St. Louis has some fascinating bridges, including the stone and steel arch Eads Bridge, which is now only used for the Metro Link and pedestrian traffic. On the East St. Louis, Ilinois, side of the river, there is a "faux" paddlewheel hotel/casino complex called the CASINO QUEEN, its purpose evident by the flashing neon sign on the adjacent embankment. I disembarked the hour long cruise just in time to flee to another waterfront tent as the day's most severe drenching began. After another hour and a half of watching the southern extremes of the river, I finally gave up and headed back to the hotel.

The DELTA QUEEN (left) and the MISSISSIPPI QUEEN together at St. Louis on 4 July 2006. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

And, of course, after eating and freshing up, I returned to the waterfront to discover both vessels tied up side to side at the foot of the Eads Bridge, with the MISSISSIPPI QUEEN on the western embankment. It was a nice contrast: the 1927-built DELTA QUEEN's cambered, sheered silhouette next to the squared off, larger 1976-built MISSISSIPPI QUEEN. From the vantage of the bridge, with the clearing afternoon sky and the famous arch as a backdrop, they made an impressive pair.

That evening I joined my friend Christopher Kyte, CEO of Train Holidays/Uncommon Journeys (www.trainholidays.com) who had arrived with his ninety person charter group. Their "American Legends" journey had begun two days prior at the opulent 1920's built Drake Hotel in Chicago. Today, they boarded the 1948 built streamliner train, INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL, for its five hour journey to St. Louis. After dinner in the hotel, we walked to the Eads Bridge to view the fireworks over the Mississippi. The DELTA QUEEN had since left her fleetmate and moved down river, just below the riverboat excursion dock.

The following morning (today) involved packing and boarding one of the Uncommon Journeys/Train Holiday's coaches for an architectural tour of St. Louis. We were delivered to the DELTA QUEEN at the end of the afternoon extravaganza. The DQ looked eager to depart, her red stern wheel slowly pivoting against her mooring lines and a faint plume of black smoke seething from her crowned stovepipe of a funnel. She was soaking up the afternoon sunlight and looking most regal from the concrete and stone landing.

Top, once opened, the front doors lead to, bottom, the first of DELTA QUEEN's three brass lined stairtowers. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

It has been ten years since my last visit to the DELTA QUEEN. One boards via the bow ramp on Main Deck. The ramp, itself, is a classic riverboat feature, and swings to either side via a pivoting boom that pulls it up while the boat is underway, holding it suspended over the ship's prow like a long butterfly's proboscis. A short walk across the mooring deck leads to a pair of swinging oak doors that have the letters "D" and "Q" embedded in their stained glass window panes. Once inside, and up a gleaming brass stairtower, one steps into the oak paneled Forward Cabin Lounge on Cabin Deck.

The Forward Cabin Lounge facing aft from port (top) and facing forward from starboard (bottom). Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

The port side offers a coffee, tea, and lemonade station that looks out onto a sheltered forward terrace while the starboard side has more seating and a small desk for shore excursions and port information pamphlets. The aft port portion of the room houses the purser's office and the starboard side features a nice gift shop with all sorts of DELTA QUEEN paraphernalia.

Top to bottom: The stairs leading from the Forward Cabin Lounge up to the Texas Bar; facing forward from starboard in the Texas Bar; facing aft from port in the Texas Bar; a detail of one of the original stained glass windows in the Texas Bar. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

An even grander brass staircase leads up to the Texas Bar, another oak-paneled salon fronted by bowed glass windows. Like the Forward Cabin Lounge, it also sports Tiffany-styled stained glass windows along its upper perimeter. It is served by a bar in its center and seems to be the most frequently populated space on board. Aft of the Forward Cabin Lounge, the Betty Blake Lounge is an inner gallery adjoining rows of staterooms on either side. The forward portion of the lounge once housed the vessel's dining room, which in her Sacramento Delta days had a towering skylight.

The Orleans Room, facing aft/port. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

Aside from the Orleans Dining Room on Main Deck (which was converted from cargo space in 1948), the rest of the DELTA QUEEN is devoted to staterooms.

The DELTA QUEEN's outer decks, top to bottom: forward Texas Deck as seen from Sun Deck; port Sun Deck facing aft; starboard Texas Deck facing aft; starboard Cabin Deck facing forward. Photos and copyright Peter Knego.

Cambered and slightly sheered promenades fully encircle Sun, Texas, and Cabin Decks, whose accommodation (except for that on Cabin Deck) is accessed, unlike most ships, from the outside.

Top, cabin 225. Bottom, cabin 121. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

Our first assigned cabin, 225, was a compact upper/lower that would likely have provided both of our post six foot frames with some logistical challenges. Thankfully, one of Christopher's clients did not like the location of their larger cabin, 121, on aft Cabin Deck, so we gladly made the switch. With a nice long entryway and two lower beds, this cabin was much better suited to accommodating my excess luggage and insomnia.

At night, the calliope is floodlight with colored lights. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

During our second seating dinner, I kept leaving our table between courses to go up on deck to catch the MISSISSIPPI QUEEN's scheduled upriver departure. I would soon learn that both vessels were waiting for a group of passengers that had been delayed by a late flight. Following dinner, DQ finally lifted her gangway, unhitched her lines, and head slowly up the river. Her wonderful steam whistle hissed and sputtered before holding a nice sharp hoot as a plume of black smoke belched from her stovepipe funnel extension upward into the night sky. The steam calliope at the aft end of Sun Deck chimed with some familiar Americana tunes as we passed the moonlit arch and approached the still tethered and brightly lit MQ. Once alongside her fleetmate, the DQ turned starboard in a horseshoe maneuver and caught the current as she head back downstream. Within twenty minutes, the bright skyline of St. Louis was finally behind us and the banks of the Mississippi (Illinois on our port side and Missouri to starboard) began to shed their urban trappings. The warm night air and gentle breeze were filled with all sorts of insects, so a consistent brushing was in order to avoid tracking them back into our quarters. The DQ's large Xenon search lights shone along either side and forward, seeking river markers and any possible obstacles. Powerful tugs pushed barges laden with oil, ore, grain, and machinery upriver, and, as we neared a cantilever bridge, a passenger train overtook us on the starboard side, saluting the DQ with a three whistle blast that was politely answered before the train left us behind.

Back inside, I was keen to experience the first night's entertainment offerings. On such small vessels, it is always a plus to get away from big productio

n numbers and the predictable mega cruise ship overdoses of Vegas, Broadway, and Andrew Lloyd Weber. On the DELTA QUEEN, the Orleans dining room doubles as the showroom. A small stage aft presides over its wonderfully cambered Ironwood decking. The Steamboat Stompers, the DQ's "house band", includes a bassist, violinist, clarinet, and cello player. Dallas-based "Professor" Rosalinda de Leon is the keyboardist on this journey and the first night's offerings of Dixieland-inspired music was really wonderful in the casual, intimate setting.

Two
 

The DELTA QUEEN's steam powered calliope came from the river boat WATER QUEEN, which sank toward the end of the 19th century. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

REPORT TWO: Friday, 7 July 2006 (Green River/Bluegrass)

This has been my first chance to catch up on the blog installments in two days. Currently, I am swaying back and forth on a wooden hammock bench on forward Cabin Deck, typing away as a breeze and occasional June bug tug at my orange polo shirt. We are sailing eastward on the Ohio River, its densely forested banks lined with long, silty beaches, occasional clusters of timber and twigs, and the less occasional wood-framed dwelling. Slight rolling hills line the port (Illinois, vs. Kentucky to starboard) side, looking much like they would have in the early colonial days. Yet another working tug has rounded the bend beyond the suspended gangplank, whose red carpeted walkway leads into a misty blue sky. Oakland-based ship photographer and constant world traveler, Andy Kilk, has just stopped to chat before heading down to his early seating dinner.

A builder's plaque and gauges, top. Bottom, the DELTA QUEEN's port side paddlewheel mechanism in operation. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

I am about to go down to aft Main Deck and have a look at the upper level of the DELTA QUEEN's engine room, which is open for visits on a regular basis. As I understand, all the machinery is original, some of which has been salvaged from the DELTA KING, her identical sister, which currently serves as a floating hotel in Sacramento.

Bits of the DELTA QUEEN captured along the way. Top, the grand stairs, facing down from the Texas Lounge. Bottom, the plaque designating the vessel on the National Register Of Historic Places. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

Yesterday, when we awoke, the DELTA QUEEN was at Cape Girardeau, Missouri. As is the story with most river towns, the commerce has left the city center and spread inward toward newly built shopping malls, leaving many vacant spaces within their charming period brick and stone structures. We found a friendly coffee shop and checked our e-mail at the accommodating visitors' bureau before returning to the DQ for lunch and our 2:00 PM departure. I attended a mind-opening lecture on the history of Bluegrass music and spent thirty five minutes puffing away on an elliptical machine overlooking the paddlewheel as our little floating "palace" steamed down the Mississippi toward its junction with the Ohio at Cairo, Illinois. There was a chance to document portions of the DQ as passenger traffic gravitated to the Texas Bar and the dining room before getting ready for dinner.

Last night's entertainment was a concert by the Bluegrass artist, Marty Raybon, who boarded in Cape Girardeau. The band was lively and their musicianship impressive. It has been a healthy learning experience for me, a music industry veteran with somewhat rigid tastes. A few walks around deck proved to be fantastically evocative in the half moon's bluish light, a slight fog shrouding the riverbanks, and the vessel's searchlight roaming off to either side and into the sky. After carefully shaking off our clothes to dislodge the harmless, but ever-present river bugs, it was time to get some sleep.

In Paducah, KY. One street, two perspectives. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

REPORT THREE: Saturday, 8 July 2006 (Signs Of The Times In Paducah)

This is written in the Cabin Lounge, while I sit in a high back chair drinking some custom made iced green tea. Outside the windows on our starboard side are the corn fields of Kentucky and patches of green forest. It is now Saturday, July 8, and we have just departed Henderson, KY, once the home of James Audobon.

Rosalinda de Leon is caught tickling the steamy calliope keyboards as DELTA QUEEN departs Paducah, KY. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

Yesterday, we visited Paducah, KY. Another river hamlet, it is an artists' community with a charming, well-preserved "old town". A "blue patch" in a "red region", the main street had an interesting clash of political perspectives, from the red, white, and blue festooned Republican Headquarters to the neighboring movie theater marquee promoting Al Gore's global warming documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth". The local folk were friendly and helpful and we spent a bit of time in our usual manner, catching up on e-mail in the library and consuming caffeinated beverages. A familiar whistle blew as we awaited change at the local ice cream parlor. At 12:55, we stepped onboard the DQ just as the gangway was raised. Moments later, the calliope began its melodic, steam-powered salute to Paducah and DELTA QUEEN rolled on her merry way northeastward.

As seen facing aft from the observation deck, the DQ's forward superstructure has changed little in the vessel's almost 80 years. The golden antlers below the wheelhouse are soon to be surrendered to the MISSISSIPPI QUEEN, which beat the DELTA QUEEN in their latest "Great Steamboat Race". Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

The sights of the Ohio are even more impressive than those of the Mississippi. The flora is greener, the waters more clear, and the topography (especially that on our port side) more varied. We are now passing the 140,000 strong city of Evansville, Indiana on our port side. The familiar gamut of abandoned industrial buildings and warehouses, a coal loading dock, and a faux paddlewheel casino boat have come into view. Two speed boats have been circling us for a couple of miles. I envy their views of our majestic steamer as she continues on her upstream way.

An old truss railroad bridge frames the DELTA QUEEN at Henderson, Kentucky. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

This morning, we awoke rather late, skipping breakfast and the DELTA QUEEN's leaden coffee to go ashore at Henderson and seek out something a bit more satisfying. It was yet another sleepy river town, devoid of traffic, save for the occasional pickup truck with small boat in tow. Again, the local people were very friendly and happy to give us directions and recommendations. The Library allowed us more time on the internet and a quick stop at the local diner provided a satisfying chicken sandwich and delicious iced tea before we returned to the DQ.

The casino boat is now saluting us with its diesel horn, and DELTA QUEEN responds with her lovely steam whistle. We are passing what looks like Evansville's downtown. Down below in the Orleans Room, the blue grass duo, Casey and Chris (and the Two Stringers) are performing various river tunes to strum yet more local ambiance into this lazy afternoon. One of the boat's hardworking crew unhooks the components of a nearby ceiling light and begins to clean each crystal piece. He explains it is a two day job to clean the two hundred fifty such lamps on the DELTA QUEEN.

Mary Charlton, one of the boat's dedicated bartenders and self-professed "steamboat obsessive". Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

A favorite crew member, Mary Charlton, used to watch the DELTA QUEEN sail in and out of her native Cincinnati in the 1960s. After raising her children, she began working on the vessel last year and is living her dream. Her free time on board is spent admiring the fine details and visiting the engine room (the upper portion of which is open to passengers). She readily admits she is obsessed with steamboats and the DELTA QUEEN is her greatest love.

Later that same day...

At the entrance to the Smithland Lock, a group of spectators on a platform waved and called out to the DQ. Once again, her funnel was hitched back to allow passage under the concrete overhang. After dinner, we decided to skip the show, a tribute to the "Hee Haw" television series and watch the nighttime scenery.

PART FOUR: Sunday, 9 July, 2006 (Bloggin' Up The River)

It is now the end of a lazy Sunday. We lost an hour in our eastward journey last night and I woke at 11:30, feeling as though I may have finally caught up on my sleep. Lunch is served "family style" in the dining room with offerings of fried chicken, catfish and barbecue ribs. The whole "Picnic" occasion seems to be a big hit with the passengers. I attend a lecture by Jim Claypool about horse racing and the Kentucky Derby. Without any visual aids, he has managed to fascinate us with the subject.

You never know what you will see from the DQ's decks as she steams along the river. Top, a hanglider in a jalopy? Center, the DQ's magical wheel creates a long ducktail. Bottom, a slice of Kentucky, as seen from the river. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

We passed some glorious plantations, abandoned farm houses, palatial manors, and thick, forested riverbanks on either side. Today was relatively overcast and warmer than the prior days. An iridescent blue/black Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly flirted with those of us on port Cabin Deck who were lucky enough to take notice. On the starboard side, as the late afternoon sun began to break through the gray overhead cover, the DELTA QUEEN's shadow darkened the wavy brown waters. Her magnificent paddlewheel had kicked up a serpent-like froth of a ducktail.

Following the captain's dinner, Rosalinda de Leon returned to play a colored steam calliope concert on deck before the evening show in the New Orleans Lounge. Afterwards, most of us returned to the forward decks for a nighttime lock passage and a sail-by of Louisville, Kentucky on the starboard side. The modern skyline of this moderately sized city looked like Metropolis after so many days of rural river cruising. The wonderful old steamboat, BELLE OF LOUISVILLE, lay discretely along the waterfront, lit only by a strand of running lights. In some respects, her wooden structure and wide cambered decks resembled the DELTA QUEEN, but she has twin chimneys in proper Mississippi River tradition. As Louisville began to disappear behind us, we passed the Jeffboat Shipyard in Jeffersonville, Indiana on our port side. This was the birthplace of the MISSISSIPPI QUEEN and is now kept active with barge and casino boat building.

As I lay in our cabin, the creaks and rattles of the DELTA QUEEN are working in sonic collusion to deliver me into the realm of the unconscious.

PART FIVE: Tuesday, 11 July 2006 (Ohio And Good-bye)

The fountain at Madison, Indiana. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

Monday, July 10, found us in the charming town of Madison, Indiana. DELTA QUEEN was fast to the riverbank when we awoke in the midmorning. The quaint Main Street had a very familiar feel and has been the setting for several major motion pictures, including the Oscar-nominated "Some Came Running" starring Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, and Dean Martin in 1958. More Hollywood lore was discovered as we passed a marker dedicated to the elegant film star Irene Dunne, who was raised here in the early part of the twentieth century.

With funnel hinged back, the DQ's boilers blast away accumulated smuts as she prepares to depart Madison, Indiana. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.ÊÊ

A while later, we were back aboard DELTA QUEEN for one last calliope concerto by the ebullient Rosalinda de Leon at sailing time. The funnel had once again been collapsed to allow passage under a nearby cantilever bridge. A pillar of black smoke towered over us as the boilers were blasted clean and we get underway. For the rest of the afternoon, the Ohio River offered up a dramatic contrast of scenery from coal-fueled powerplants and their towering chimneys, corn fields, palatial homes, and historic towns to dense forest.

Last night's show in the Orleans Room featured newcomer Amy Baker. It was a wonderfully camp and eclectic set combining elements of Sarah Vaughan, Eartha Kitt, Marilyn Monroe, and Lena Horne. This girl could really sing and the show was one of the best I have seen in a long, long time.

That evening, as we drew closer to Cincinnati, the river was very still and reflected the full moon's light. The Xenon lamps shone off the port bow, in search of a fuel barge. Soon, the smell of Bunker C permeated the outer decks. It was time to finish packing and leave our luggage outside the stateroom. Our time in DELTA QUEEN was almost done.

The DELTA QUEEN, framed in raindrops at Cincinnati. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006

Friday, July 11. It is our first day of rain since boarding the DELTA QUEEN and, following breakfast, time to disembark and begin our tour of this cosmopolitan midwestern city. The stone towered Roebling Bridge, a relatively small precursor to the famous Brooklyn Bridge, is the first standout sight on our tour. Cincinnati's skyline is a blend of aging yellow stone and the usual modern glass structures.

Cincinnati's Union Station is an Art Deco masterpiece. Top, the soaring lobby. Bottom, one of the beautifully rendered mosaic panels in its ceiling. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

Our tour bus takes us to the phenomenal Art Deco Union Station. The scale and opulence of the domed lobby is breathtaking, but meets it match upon our arrival at the magnificent 1931-built Netherland Plaza Hotel. We would stay the night in the Netherland Plaza, whose cathedral-like lobbies and grand stairtowers are adorned with nickel and brass grillwork, heavy hand railings, ceramic mermaids, painted murals, and rich Brazilian Rosewood paneling. The overall look is a cross between the NORMANDIE, L'ATLANTIQUE, QUEEN MARY, and The Chrysler Building.

A final view of DELTA QUEEN as she steams under the Roebling Bridge at Cincinnati. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

At about 5:30 PM, I ventured out into the muggy surroundings and walked down to the riverfront. The DELTA QUEEN's steam whistle was audible before I could actually see her from the walkway on the Roebling Bridge. When she finally came into view from the base of the northern tower, her funnel was being lowered in preparation for her departure. I crossed the bridge and awaited from the Covington, Kentucky bank. At 6:00 exactly, her paddlewheel edged her away from the embankment and excess blasts of steam shot out of the forward portion of her hull.

DQ moved forward and turned starboard to catch the current, which led her down the river. She steamed majestically under the Roebling Bridge, the sounds of her calliope growing louder, then dimming as she passed. Moments later, as she rounded a distant bend in the river, the calliope steaming over her paddlewheel, the grand old boat slipped out of view.

Resembling a grand lounge on an Art Deco oceanliner, the Palm Court of the Netherland Hotel was originally the main lobby. Now it serves as a restaurant. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2006.Ê

I rejoined the Uncommon Journeys group at the Montgomery Riverfront Inn for dinner and good-byes, and then spent some time wandering the palatial lobbies of the Netherland Plaza.

Saturday, July 12. We head for the Cincinnati International Airport to pick up our rental car for the eight hour drive to Muskegon, Michigan to visit Scott Davis, a good friend and avid ocean liner collector. His home is a virtual Midshipcentury showroom filled with a number of wonderful artifacts from the NORMANDIE and UNITED STATES to the STELLA SOLARIS and IVERNIA.