Hal Jespersen’s Travel Page
I have taken a number of trips unrelated to the Civil War, usually with my wife Nancy (unless it's about any type of warfare). My practice of writing travelogues started with some cruises in the late 1990s, but has expanded over the years to include just about all of our significant trips, including many with the Road Scholar organization. The title of the trips below are the links to the travelogue pages. The photos are also links to those pages. If you are interested in my Civil War travelogues, click the menu item above.
Heart of Germany Tour, October 2024
Hal visits World War II sites in Germany with Valor Tours.
Northern Rockies Tour, August–September 2024
Hal and Nancy visit the US and Canadian Northern Rockies with Smithsonian Journeys and Rocky Mountaineer.
Operation Dragoon Tour, August 2024
Hal follows the 1944 Allied invasion of Southern France, Operation Dragoon, with Valor Tours.
Burgundy Walking Tour, August 2024
Hal takes a walking/tasting tour of Burgundy vineyards.
Rome and Viking Med Cruise, May 2024
Hal and Nancy visit Rome and then take a cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean.
World War II Normandy Campaign Tour, April 2024
Hal dives deeply into less-traveled aspects of the Normandy Campaign with WW2TV.
World War II Central Pacific Tour, February 2024
Hal studies Admiral Nimitz's World War II Central Pacific Campaign with BGES.
Costa Rica Tour, January 2024
Hal and Nancy get a "Taste of Costa Rica" with Road Scholar.
Battle of the Bulge Tour, December 2023
Hal studies the World War II Battle of the Bulge with Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours.
World War I Western Front Tour, November 2023
Hal studies the World War I Western Front (Belgium and France) with Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours.
UK Mighty Eighth Air Force Tour, September 2023
Hal toured UK sites of the Mighty Eighth Air Force with the National World War II Museum.
Norwegian Fjords Cruise, August 2023
Hal and Nancy cruised with Windstar from London to the Norwegian fjords and Denmark.
Western North Carolina, May 2023
Hal and Nancy visited Western North Carolina (Asheville and Charlotte).
Fort Benning Armor, April 2023
Hal visited the Fort Benning US Army Armor and Cavalry Collection.
Signature City Miami, February 2023
Hal and Nancy visited Miami with Road Scholar.
Italian Campaign, October 2022
Hal studies the World War II Italian Campaign with Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours.
Alaska Cruise, September 2022
Hal and Nancy take an Alaska Cruise from San Francisco.
UK TankFest, June 2022
Hal attends TankFest in the UK.
Lewis and Clark, May–June 2022
Hal and Nancy follow Lewis and Clark on land and river with Road Scholar.
Amtrak to Denver, October 2020
Hal and Nancy take Amtrak to visit Denver for a long weekend.
Journey through New Zealand, February 2020
Hal and Nancy visit New Zealand on a tour by Smithsonian Journeys.
Road Scholar: Texas, November 2019
Hal and Nancy visit Houston and a Wildlife Safari and the join Road Scholars in Texas to visit San Antonio, Texas Hill Country, and Austin.
Road Scholar: America's Musical Roots, September 2019
Hal and Nancy join Road Scholars in Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City for an exploration of jazz, blues, and other American musical styles.
D-Day 75th Anniversary and Patton's Third Army, June 2019
Hal takes a Stephen Ambrose tour to England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany.
Road Scholar: Panama Canal, February 2019
Hal and Nancy travel to Panama for the Road Scholar program, "Grit and Glory: Exposing the Panama Canal"
Disney Aulani Resort, Hawaii, October 2018
Nancy and Hal visit the Disney Aulani resort in Oahu.
US Air Force Half Marathon and Cincinnati, September 2018
Nancy and Hal travel to Dayton, Ohio, for a half marathon and then a brief weekend in Cincinnati.
Week in New York City, July 2018
Nancy and Hal travel to New York for a variety of neighborhood tours and West Point.
Road Scholar: Revolutionary Boston, May 2018
Hal and Nancy studied the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in Boston.
"Spies, Lies and Atomic Secrets" in Santa Fe with Road Scholar, March 2018
Hal attended an interesting atomic espionage conference in Santa Fe, visited Glorieta Pass, and had adventures in Albuquerque.
Death Valley and Las Vegas, February 2018
Hal ran in the Death Valley Half Marathon and he and Nancy visited Las Vegas on either end of the trip.
Long Weekend in New York City, October 2017
Nancy and Hal make a brief trip to New York.
Safari West, II
Nancy and Hal make a second visit to an African game reserve in Sonoma County, California. (Just two weeks before the big fire!)
Road Scholar: "Signature City Pittsburgh", September 2017
Hal and Nancy visit Pittsburgh with Road Scholar. We also visited Carnegie Mellon University and took a foodie tour.
Road Scholar: "Signature City New Orleans", March 2017
Hal and Nancy visit New Orleans with Road Scholar for the program "Signature City New Orleans: An Unforgettable City of Mystery and Intrigue"
Road Scholar: "Signature City Detroit", October 2016
Hal and Nancy visit Detroit with Road Scholar for the program "Signature City Detroit: Motors, Motown and Moving Forward"
Road Scholar: "Beyond the Velvet Curtain"—Broadway Theater, April 2016
Hal and Nancy visit New York with Road Scholar for the program "The Best of Theater in New York: Behind the Velvet Curtain"
Road Scholar: Everglades and Florida Keys, February 2016
Hal and Nancy visited South Florida with Road Scholar for the program "Keys and Everglades: Human and Natural History Outdoor Studies"
Holland America New England and Canada Cruise, September 2015
Hal and Nancy traveled to New England and Atlantic Canada, in two parts: a brief visit to Providence, Rhode Island, followed by a cruise on Holland America Line's MS Maasdam from Boston to Montréal.
Lexington, Kentucky, March 2015
Hal and Nancy traveled to Kentucky for Nancy to attend the Road to the Horse show.
Road Scholar: Backstage at Walt Disney World , January 2015
Hal and Nancy attend "Walt Disney World Resort: The Mystery Behind the Magic" with Road Scholar
Road Scholar: Savannah, April 2013
Hal and Nancy attend "Savannah’s Rich Heritage, Remarkable History and Memorable Music" with Road Scholar
Caribbean Medley Cruise — Emerald Princess, December 2012
Hal and Nancy cruise in the Caribbean for Christmas.
Road Scholar: Charlottesville, November 2012
Hal and Nancy attend "Friends, Neighbors, Presidents: The World of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe" with Road Scholar
Road Scholar: Utah National Parks, April 2012
Hal and Nancy visit a boatload of national parks and monuments in southern Utah with Road Scholar.
Road Scholar: Chincoteague Island, September 2011
Hal and Nancy visit the wild ponies on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, with Road Scholar. A trip to some Civil War sites in Baltimore is included.
Road Scholar: Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, August 2011
Hal and Nancy visit the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks with Road Scholar
Road Scholar: "Grand Canyon Odyssey," April 2011
Hal and Nancy visit Grand Canyon with Road Scholar
Princess Western Caribbean Cruise, December 2010
Nancy, Hal, Jeff, and Carol sail on the Crown Princess to the Western Caribbean
Military Vehicle Technology Foundation, October 2010
Hal visited a privately owned collection of tanks and other vehicles in Portola Valley, CA.
Vision Quest Safari B&B, September 2010
Nancy and Hal encounter some big game in Salinas, CA.
Road Scholar: Reno, Nevada, August 2010
Nancy and Hal experience America's Living Legends: Wild Horses of the West.
Caneel Bay, St. John, US Virgin Islands, April 2010
Nancy and Hal celebrated her birthday on the beach.
2008 Safari West
Nancy and Hal visited an African game reserve in Sonoma County, California.
2006 Alaska Cruise-Tour
Nancy and Hal spent two weeks in Alaska with Princess Cruise lines. The first week was land travel from Fairbanks to Anchorage, including Denali National Park. The second week was on the Sapphire Princess from Anchorage to Vancouver, B.C.
2005 Mexican Riviera Cruise
We took a 10-day cruise over the Christmas holiday break on Holland America Lines, traveling from San Diego, concentrating on the Sea of Cortez.
2003 Pacific Northwest
We visited the Pacific Northwest over the Fourth of July holiday week, including Seattle and Portland.
2002 South Australia
We returned to Australia and centered our activities around Adelaide, which is one of the most significant wine regions. We also had two interesting days on Kangaroo Island.
2002 Bordeaux Wine Tour
Hal traveled on an extensive wine tasting tour of the Bordeaux region in France, starting in Paris, and visiting a number of great châteaux.
2001 Mediterranean Cruise
We took a luxurious two weeks vacation on Windstar Cruise Line for our 25th wedding anniversary. We sailed from Lisbon to Nice with many stops including Tangier, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, and Cannes.
2000 Caribbean Cruise
We took a two week repositioning cruise on Windstar through the Caribbean. We sailed from Belize to Barbados with many stops at some obscure ports.
2000 Australia Millennium
We traveled to Australia to celebrate the new millennium (meaning January 1, 2001). We spent the majority of the time near Sydney and Melbourne.
1998 Southeast Asia Cruise
Hal and Nancy took a cruise on Princess from Hong Kong, around Southeast Asia, and ending in Bangkok. This is a bare-bones entry without photos.
