Today’s the day. We leave for LAX in a few hours, and from there we fly to Amsterdam. Then on to Southampton, and from there we cruise north along Norway’s coast. This is a whole lot of trouble just to see some energized particles in the solar wind.

We have about a day and a half in Southampton, so we decided to rent a car and see some sights. Stonehenge, the New Forest, and Salisbury Cathedral are all in play. Salisbury was my first European cathedral, many years ago, and it made quite an impression on me. I’d like to see if it seems as majestic now that I’m better traveled.

I’m taking all the Fuji camera gear, and this trip will be the deciding test. If I still get pictures I like better with an iPhone, I’ll declare myself an inferior photographer and divest all the Fuji gear. That’ll be sad, but I have to apply the Dirty Harry rule: “A good man always knows his limitations.” Hard to accept, but true.

Another acid test – if I get sick again as a result of this cruise, that’s it. I’m done with them for the foreseeable future. I know a certain spouse who won’t be happy about that, but…Dirty Harry rule again. I’m tired of losing perfectly good days to illness.

I realized that I’ll miss several other things by being gone the next couple of weeks, not just the elections. UK’s preseason hoops games. Halloween. The peak of the fall leaves in KY. The probable first rain of the season in Socal. Everyday life doesn’t seem so mundane when you have to miss it.

This awful summer of sickness, death and travel has really crystallized my desires for the future. I miss the grandsons, and everyday life with them can be every bit as good as seeing the world. Better. Gonna do something about that when I get back.