*Because my spouse is a connoiseur of wines, especially the expensive and extra bubbly French ones, we had to visit the famed vinyards of the Champagne District. It’s a beautiful region, because when we were there it was late June, and everything was in glorious, colorful, sweet-smelling blossom. The Champagne air is enough all by itself to cause drunken giddiness. We stayed in an old chateau that had been converted to a bed and breakfast. Where else but in Champagne would you get wine with your jambon et oeufs?

In publicity photos several years ago for the movie, "Annapolis", the midshipmen were all sharply lined up in front of an imposing building that resembled the Parthenon. Hmmm. In my Navy career I visited the Naval Academy many times and knew there was no such building there. Then it hit me. How could I not recognize Founder's Hall in Girard College? The school for fatherless boys in Philly had been my home from age six to 17, and I spent lots of time near or in the imposing building. The movie’s producers decided that filming at Girard in Philly was more convenient and cheaper than doing it at the real Naval Academy in Maryland.

Santa Barbara is a beautiful seaside city in central California, some 100 miles north of Los Angeles. The surrounding mountains and breathtaking ocean views make the quiet, old mission town a great destination for senior visitors. Well, at least most of the year. However, senior tourists could get overwhelmed during Spring Break. The University of California, Santa Barbara, is there. Those students and thousand of others from colleges and high schools arrive from thousands of miles away to celebrate the sea, surf, sex, suds and other youthful excesses. For two weeks, the city’s population swells from about 90,000 to half a million. Check your calendar, and stay away if you don’t want to join in on Spring Break fun.