The Hardest Shopping Experience

 

The Snack Food Aisle
Publix, Tequesta, FL
May 14, 2026

Shopping for food is a difficult experience. The stores appear intent on making the experience as complex and bewildering as possible.

How can shopping for food be complex? Well the are the 2 for's, BOGOs, buy 3 and get 1, buy 2 and get 1, 3 for, 4 for and even 5 for. And it is deceptive. I got trapped the other day buying bread. The kind that Chris likes appeared to be on a BOGO, until I got to the register. The specific bread she likes, while the correct size and in the family which had the BOGO was not the specific variety that was offered on the BOGO.  Ugh! I need to have a law degree to shop.

And even items not on special can be deceptively priced. The cereal I prefer is a recent case in point. Yesterday, I had a choice between the standard or the family size box. I initially grabbed the family size thinking it would be the better value. Not so fast! When I compared price per ounce, the family size was more expensive per ounce. And not just a little bit. Who does that?

I thought that was all bad enough until I realized that the snack food aisle is one long continuous landmine of price, size, and multiple offerings. And in our Publix it is the longest single section of the store other than the soft drink section. 

Nothing in the snack food aisle is standard. The package sizes vary across producers and even within products. Stretching it out into a single long aisle makes cost comparison shopping is nearly impossible. And the multiple varieties of potato chips make the head spin. Chris and I spent nearly 10 minutes selecting potato chips. Really? Like the world is going to end if we don't buy the best value potato chips. 

At least the pickles I use on my sandwich were on a BOGO! That seemed far easier than selecting potato chips. 

It is a jungle out there!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Titanic: An Immersive Voyage

From the Deck of the Titanic
Boynton Beach, FL
May 13, 2026

 Yesterday's highlight was attending the Titanic: An Immersive Voyage in Boynton Beach, Florida. The location was a short 45 minute drive away and well worth the wait. I had hoped to have attended the experience during March, but it was sold out. I secured the yesterday's tickets well over a month ago. 

The Narrative

The timed entry was strictly enforced and we were ushered into the displays right on time. A nicely formatted 24-part audio narrative was provided on our phones with air pods connected. The instructions provided with the tickets advised people to bring headphones or AirPods to be able to access the additional historical information.

The voyage began by standing on a reproduction of the bow of the Titanic for a picture and then examining a number of static displays accompanied by a wealth of information about the ship. There were also images of the interior of the ship, but much of the information presented was from or based upon the movie. 

Scene from the 360 degree movie
Titanic: An Immersive Voyage

There are three unique highlights of the voyage. First was a 3D tour beginning undersea exploring the actual wreck and then progressing through the recreated interior of the ship through to the sinking. It was a mini Titanic movie. 

The 3D experience was unique but I felt it had a couple of flaws. The scaling for some of the video was too much larger than life and detracted from the story and in places the video moved too fast through the ship and was disorienting. Do not misunderstand, I enjoyed the 3D experience and wearing the special goggles, but I also noted that there were definite places where the program interpolated the scene causing some small disconnects. I give them an A+ for effort but only a B for execution. They could have ended the session better by transitioning back to real footage of the wreck and then resurfacing to complete experience that was started.

First-Class Dining Room
Titanic: An Immersive Experience

The second highlight was the 360-degree movie experience sitting in a comfortable room with an actual-size modified lifeboat. This was a true 360-degree experience and added a lot to the overall experience of the day. I learned a lot of factual knowledge from the movie, for instance the reports of icebergs from other vessels in the area were never forwarded to the captain for action form the radio operator. I also learned about the poor quality rivets that were used.

The third highlight  the experience provided was the name and information about a real passenger. Our task was to check their status of that person on the Memorial Wall which was the final exhibit in the show. That was a sobering experience. 

From the 360 Degree Movie

My assigned passenger was 18-year old First Class traveler, Daniel Warner Marvin. Checking the wall for his name, I searched the rescued area first and found an 18-year old woman with the same last name. I then found him among those who were lost. I surmised that they were married. But there was no information available at the exhibit to confirm that hypothesis. The hook is to go online afterwards to find out more about the passenger. And I did! They were newlyweds ending a three-month honeymoon. He is reported to have told his wife as he loaded her into a lifeboat: "It’s alright, little girl. You go. I will stay." His body, if recovered, was not identified. His wife was pregnant at the time and later gave birth to a girl.

My final observations about the experience concerned the physical space. The static displays were too close to each other, the gift shop was too large for the amount of items they offered and the Memorial Wall did not have nearly enough space. Adding a small research center for those wanting to explore more about their passenger or even about other aspects of the disaster would be a nice touch. 

So, my recommendation--this exhibit at $45 is a bit pricey given the total time to visit is about 1h20m. but, the senior discount made it worth the visit. Overall, I give it 4 out of 5 stars. Let me say that Chris loved the entire experience!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Riding to Workout

Workout Effort Tracker
Tequesta, FL
May 12, 2026

 We were treated to a hard rain yesterday afternoon. I was fortunate to get out onto the streets before the wetness arrived. I have been working on conditioning and was very excited that 63 percent of my 18-mile ride was in the cardio or peak workout range. I crossed the 100-miles ridden this month mark with the ride yesterday. 

The skies were blue as I began the ride, but the gray storm clouds were already gathering as I pedaled into the driveway. I expected the rain to begin no earlier than 11 AM and I completed my journey just after 10 AM. The rain began about 11:20 AM.

I am planning to accomplish the three bridge ride again soon and am planning to add some additional streets to increase the distance a bit. The ride to Hobe Sound the other day crosses two drawbridges, but the three bridge ride, while having only two drawbridges, crosses much larger bridges situated on main highways. Larger means higher and harder.

Today there will be no biking as we are headed to the Titanic Exhibition in Boynton Beach. It is about an hour away, depending of course on traffic. 

Busy times in South Florida. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Thank you, I want some more?

 

A banner thanking President Donald Trump
 for improvements to Logan Circle.
(Philip Kennicott/The Washington Post)

Living with a megalomaniac as president is something that I never considered possible in the United States. But yet, here we are. 

I came across the banner at the right as it was published in the Washington Post and I found it frightening when I considered all of the things for which I can thank our president.

Thank you President Trump . . .  (not an all inclusive list)

for adding $2.8 trillion to the national debt since starting your second term

for the tariffs which are generating income straight from the wallets of Americans

for starting a war with Iran that may never end

for ensuring Iran never gets a nuclear weapon (oh, wait, hasn't happened)

for strangling the world by losing control of the Strait of Hormuz

for deporting so many people trying to find a better life in America

for destroying the American dream

for increasing the price of coffee

for higher grocery store prices

for eliminating inflation (higher now than when took office)

for terminating renewable and green sources of energy production which has caused the price of energy to rise as AI Data Centers start sucking up more energy

for putting your name on the Kennedy Center

for putting your signature on our money

for putting your face in our passports

for changing the name of PBI and then trademarking the name so your family makes money of anything sold with the new name of the airport on it 

for increasing your family's wealth by $3-5 billion since the beginning of your second term

for selling telephones that do not exist

for lowering the price of prescription drugs

for removing access to affordable medical care for millions of Americans

for terminating support for the Ukrainians in their fight against Russian aggression

for tearing down the East Wing of the White House promising its replacement would be funded privately and then asking Congress for $1B

for painting the bottom of the Reflecting Pool blue

for trampling the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments

for reducing the Freedom of the Press 

for creating your own police force (ICE) which needs to cover their faces because they are not bound by the Constitution

for choosing to fund war over assistance to Americans

for hurting our farmers through tariffs and war

for making decisions that destroy natural resources

for the measles outbreak

for giving tax breaks to your billionaires

for taking food out of the mouths of children in the U.S. and around the world

for two new golden statues of you (I think there is a story in the Bible about a Golden Calf in Exodus 32) 

for destroying the Rose Garden

for getting rid of the penny (which is actually a good thing)

for blaming all of your problems on Biden 

for having the most ineffective cabinet in the history of the U.S. 

for not taking responsibility for the problems you have created in the U.S. and around the World

for making Americans less safe

for destroying relationships with our Allies

for America First (but last after the family makes a profit?) 

for trying to take Greenland

for threatening to make Canada our 51st State

for reducing the rights of women to have control over their bodies 

for releasing the Epstein files (or not) 

  Who knew there was so much to be thankful for? "Please sir, I want some more?"

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta

Monday Musings - May 11, 2026

 1. The march of May continues as it is not the second Monday of the Month. In just two short weeks Memorial Day will arrive to announce the unofficial beginning of Summer. There remain 33 Mondays in 2026.

Under the Banyan Trees on Beach Road
Hobe Sound, FL
May 9, 2026

2. A hearty congratulations to the Arundel High School Baseball Team for a thrilling season. It did not end the way we all desired, but still, you all did great. Congrats.

3. Mother's Day was throughly enjoyed by Chris. We ended the day with dinner at Cooper's Hawk  followed by watching one of her favorite movies: The Sound of Music. She also enjoyed hearing from each of her children.

Tortoise Number 4 on my Ride
Tequesta, FL
May 10, 2026

4. I completed an 18-mile ride during which I saw five gopher tortoises. That was the most I have ever seen during a ride. I guess it was a busy day in the tortoise world. It was also the hottest day I've ridden this year. 

5. Saturday, I had to take the truck out for a drive to keep the wheels round and the fluids flowing. I drove the reverse of the rout I had ridden my bike on Friday and was able to get a great image of the banyan trees lining Beach Road in Hobe sound. It is an iconic road and when a tornado damaged the trees a couple years ago, they were speedily repaired and reset. that is why they look a bit thin.

6. The words of Péter Magyar's inauguration speech in Hungary caused me to pause and dream of better times here in the USA. He said, “We inherited a country where politics deliberately pitted Hungarians against each other,” he said, and he explained how Orbán mobilized supporters with hatred and fear, poisoning “the collective psyche of an entire nation.” “The Hungarian state must never again do this to its own citizens,” he said. He vowed to heal the country: “We will once again learn to think of ourselves as one nation,” he promised. (Letters from an American)

7. Today in History. On May 11, 1934, a massive storm sends millions of tons of topsoil flying from across the parched Great Plains region of the United States as far east as New York, Boston and Atlanta.

At the time the Great Plains were settled in the mid-1800s, the land was covered by prairie grass, which held moisture in the earth and kept most of the soil from blowing away even during dry spells. By the early 20th century, however, farmers had plowed under much of the grass to create fields. The U.S. entry into World War I in 1917 caused a great need for wheat, and farms began to push their fields to the limit, plowing under more and more grassland with the newly invented tractor. The plowing continued after the war, when the introduction of even more powerful gasoline tractors sped up the process. During the 1920s, wheat production increased by 300 percent, causing a glut in the market by 1931.

Trump dismisses Iran's reply to peace plan, oil jumps as Hormuz closure persists - Reuters

Trump and Xi set for talks spanning Iran, nuclear, trade and AI - Reuters

Ukraine reports Russian attacks and battlefield clashes despite ceasefire - Reuters

Anger, confusion as Louisiana Republicans move to erase majority-Black House district - Reuters

China is learning from the US war with Iran - CNN

Hegseth calls for Sen. Mark Kelly to be investigated by Pentagon for second time - CNN

American Passengers Exposed to Hantavirus Land in the U.S. - The New York Times

Thousands rally to support USPS as agency running out of cash - MS Now

A death on Denver airport’s runway highlights the challenge of securing a facility twice the size of Manhattan - CNN

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Mother's Day 2026

 Happy Mother's Day

My Mom
Sidney J. Doan

Today is a day when our thoughts turn to the great women in our lives, Mothers. I write that in plural because there are many mothers in our lives worthy of recognition.

I especially remember my mom. It is now the fifth Mother's Day since she passed. I give thanks for the other mothers in my life including my wife, Chris, and my daughters. 

I was reminded of the proclamation issued by President Ronald Reagan on April 26, 1988:

Maternal love is the first tangible bond any human being knows. It is a tie at once physical, emotional, psychological, and mystical. With all of the words that have been written about motherhood, all of the poems of tribute and gratitude that have been penned through the ages, all of the portraits of a mother and child that have been painted down the centuries, none has come close to expressing in full the thankfulness and joy owing to mothers.

The mark of motherhood, as the story of Solomon and the disputed infant in the first Book of Kings shows, is a devotion to the well-being of the child so total that it overlooks itself and its own preferences and needs. It is a love that risks all, bears all, braves all. As it heals and strengthens and inspires in its objects an understanding of self-sacrifice and devotion, it is the parent of many another love as well.

The arms of a mother are the newborn's first cradle and the injured child's first refuge. The hands of a mother are the hands of care for the child who is near and of prayer for the one who is far away. The eyes of a mother are the eyes of fond surprise at baby's first step, the eyes of unspoken worry at the young adult's first voyage from home, the eyes of gladness at every call or visit that says she is honored and remembered. The heart of a mother is a heart that is always full.

Generation after generation has measured love by the work and wonder of motherhood. For these gifts, ever ancient and ever new, we cannot pause too often to give thanks to mothers. As inadequate as our homage may be and as short as a single day is to express it -- "What possible comparison was there,'' a great saint wrote of his mother, "between the honor I showed her and the service she had rendered me?'' -- Mother's Day affords us an opportunity to meet one of life's happiest duties.

Proclamation 5801 Mother's Day, 1988, April 26, 1988, President Ronald Reagan

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Across the Dunes

Looking Across the Dunes 
Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge
Hobe Sound, FL
May 8, 2026

 I enjoyed a very nice almost 23-mile ride yesterday that took me north to the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge located on Jupiter Island. October last year was the last time I rode to the beach at the wildlife refuge.

Route to Hobe Sound
May 8, 2026

The route north is tough as the first seven miles are along US 1. Traffic can be very disconcerting because about four of the mile are right on the side of the road on a too small bike lane. And the other part of the first portion of the trip is that it is mostly an uphill ride. Once off US 1, the ride becomes much more enjoyable and the southbound portion of the route is on Jupiter Island along the ocean or the ICW and among the high-end homes and of course, the Jupiter Island Club golf course, upon which I will never swing a club. My route takes me along a couple of the fairways and, infrequently, I actually see people playing the course.

During the Jupiter Island portion of the ride I usually encounter other bikers. Yesterday, they were all headed north while I was riding south. The northern end of the ride is the Wildlife Refuge and in addition to the beauty of the beach and the ocean, there are primitive rest facilities. 

I realized, this morning as I was writing, that I did not take as many images during the ride as I had planned. I had attempted to image the lighthouse while riding with my RayBan Meta AI Glasses, but I must have turned my head too soon and got a nice image of an automobile fender, but no lighthouse. Darn. 

As an aside, I have already ridden more miles this month than I did last month. Not traveling and having great weather allows me to get out more.. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Thursday Happy Hour on the Beach

Carlin Park Beach
Jupiter, FL
May 7, 2026

 After the heat of the day; the temperature soared to 90, we had a great idea to enjoy Happy Hour on the beach. The day was clear and the breeze coming off the ocean was strong but cooling. The stated water temperature of the ocean is already 77 degrees. It was, then, a perfect afternoon for enjoying the beach. Yes, as can be seen in the image, there was sargassum on the beach, but not enough to matter. 

Osprey Hunting
Carlin Park, Jupiter, FL
May 7, 2026

We arrived to the nearly deserted beach about 4:30 pm. The lifeguards were still on duty and I was pleased to see the green flag flying--meaning that the rip current warnings had ended. There were not many boats on the water, even though the ocean was relatively calm. That surprised me, but being low tide, I know there have been issues getting in and out of the Jupiter Inlet due to the shifting sandbars and shoals. Probably best not to transit during low tide.

Looking at our Umbrellas
Carlin Park, Jupiter, FL
May 7, 2026

While enjoying Happy Hour, we were treated to an osprey hunting for dinner. The majestic bird made a few dives into the waves, but came up empty. We also spied a manatee a bit offshore. It seemed to be transiting the area, heading north probably to enter the Jupiter Inlet and then into the ICW.

With the water being so warm, I actually walked out into the surf for a bit. I don't normally go into the water, but being as calm as it was, I enjoyed being offshore, well until a rouge wave came over me and got salt water into my wine glass. After that happened, I dumped the rest of my wine into the ocean and headed to shore for a refill. Salt water diluted wine tastes awful! Yes, I tasted it.

It was a great ending to Friday-eve: beach, sand, sun, waves, and friends.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Travel Planning

Boat on North Fork Loxahatchee
Tequesta, FL
May 5, 2026

Yesterday was a beautiful morning, perfect for a bike ride. I managed to get out on the streets and enjoy the day. It was great to ride for the second consecutive day! The image is from Tuesday when I spotted a boat motoring up the North Fork of the Loxahatchee.

I am spending a lot of time travel planning. Chris and I are traveling a lot and finalizing plans for even more adventures. Travel planning can be complicated. I'm finding that travel options, lodging options, and then activities while traveling can begin to fill binders of information. Of course the binders today are online, but that doesn't make the process easier. Information sandwiched among hundreds of other pieces of info in a computer folder can be frustrating to recall and find. Sometimes it seems easier to print the information and keep it in piles/physical folders. 

As the plans for one trip are finalized there are more to plan. I just, finally, I think, finished planning our late-July cruise, but funny enough I still have not completely planned our June trip to Vegas! Ugh. And then there is a trip to NOVA happening during early-September, followed by an as yet undetermined cruise in the late-September/Early October timeframe, a possible New Years cruise and, oh yes, and a possible Ireland cruise during June 2027. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Sliding through the Week

Celebratory Margarita
Tequesta, FL
May 5, 2026

Happy Hump Day

 We enjoyed a subdued Cinco de Mayo celebration. Chris and I wound up at home with a pitcher of margaritas and festive music provided by Alexa. We walked over to the Mexican Restaurant last evening, but it was overflowing with people waiting for a table and we walked back home and settled for a Southwestern-style pasta recipe, oh yea, and the margaritas. And just to clarify, knowing it was only the two of us, I only made a half-pitcher of margaritas. 

Out on the Street
Tequesta, FL
May 5, 2026

I managed a nearly 18 mile bike ride yesterday. It was good to be on the street. The morning was beautiful, although I was riding just after a passing rain shower. Although the day heated up, it remained cool and nice for most of my ride. 

In the I should have known it would happen that way department:

Now that I gained access to over-the-air television channels, Comcast and Scripps settled their contract dispute yesterday. The strange news is that Comcast sent me an email advising me that because of the loss of channel access during the dispute, I am getting a credit on my next cable bill! Yay! It's not much, but it is the thought that counts. And it happened without being asked!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL