Just checking in. Don't want to lose the blog, but haven't been using it for a while either. Keeping it for now until retirement, when I'm sure this will become MUCH more active!
C
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas!
Needless to say we made it home safe and sound. I love the idea of blogging while on the road, but the reality of it is something else entirely. Finding hotspots is getting easier, but still not where it should be. Steven and I talked about getting a mobile uplink for the next time we're out and about. We'll see.
Of course, with both kids now safely in college, our days of traveling are probably numbered in the single digits. That's what the cabin is for, anyway. When I need to get away from it all, I just head for the hills! In fact, I'm looking forward to spending a great deal of time there this summer.
Right now, it's snowed in. I think they have several feet of snow on the ground which precludes our driving in. We've walked in before (the snowshoes took some getting used to, but they're actually fun!) and looks like we'd have to walk in again if we want to visit. Steven'll probably go down sometime in the next few weeks just to check on things. I'd go with him as well, but with my knee still healing (it's fine 80% of the time after 5 weeks. Doing well!), I'm not sure I want to risk it just yet. I'll probably wait till February break to go down.
Take care, everyone! Merry Christmas!
Of course, with both kids now safely in college, our days of traveling are probably numbered in the single digits. That's what the cabin is for, anyway. When I need to get away from it all, I just head for the hills! In fact, I'm looking forward to spending a great deal of time there this summer.
Right now, it's snowed in. I think they have several feet of snow on the ground which precludes our driving in. We've walked in before (the snowshoes took some getting used to, but they're actually fun!) and looks like we'd have to walk in again if we want to visit. Steven'll probably go down sometime in the next few weeks just to check on things. I'd go with him as well, but with my knee still healing (it's fine 80% of the time after 5 weeks. Doing well!), I'm not sure I want to risk it just yet. I'll probably wait till February break to go down.
Take care, everyone! Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
DISNEY!
Retroactive posting -- again. This summer we took the kids (for the 5th time) to Disney World. We had tickets left over from the last time we went and since they never expire (we bought the option and it did save us money this time around), and Ben really wanted one last family vacation before HE went off to college....
I wrote lots while we were there and will post them shortly. For now, suffice it to say a good time was had by all :)
I wrote lots while we were there and will post them shortly. For now, suffice it to say a good time was had by all :)
Monday, August 31, 2009
Home again, home again, jiggity jig
Sorry I didn't post this earlier...I'm on my home computer and forgot the password to the blog! My traveling netbook has just been logging me in automatically for two weeks and I couldn't remember what email address or what password I needed.
We got in last night around 10:30 Eastern -- an hour before our itinerary said we should. So I think the travel agent added wrong. Ave Bauder picked us up in his van and he brought Steven and me home then dropped Steven's mom off before heading for home himself. By the time we got to bed it was well after midnight.
Ben's well and made it through the time alone just fine. I think this was a good rehearsal for him for when he goes off to college. He got to try out being on his own for a short time and was (mostly) responsible. Grass needed cutting when we got back, but then again, I hadn't put it on the chore list, thinking he'd see it was to his knees and just do it. Silly me!
But everything was clean (he did all his own laundry Sunday 'cause he didn't want to make me do it after being on vacation) and neat. No complaints at all!
We've talked to Kate several times today...I like Skype! She showed me her dorm room via her web cam; we'll get to see it live on Saturday. She's taking the bus to Buffalo and we're picking her up at the station. She needs drafting paper so we'll get that first then out to the Walden Galleria for some shopping and lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Although I like their appetizers and desserts -- who needs an entree?
Steven gained four pounds over this vacation...I lost four. All that seafood I was eating! Now I'm thinking I need to learn how to cook seafood...
Our flight was uneventful, which is just how we like them to be. Going through the Vancouver airport was long and I'm glad we got there two hours early. By the time we made it through customs and security we only had a half an hour till boarding. Of course, it didn't help that we were traveling with a dangerous criminal. Everyone else had already gone through security and headed to the gate. Steven was the last one through. I'm over by a bench putting on my sneakers when I see the guard flag Steven over to the table where they go through your belongings with a fine tooth comb.
He was carrying two bags -- his knapsack and an overnight traveling bag. They searched the overnight bag...nothing. He looks at me and shrugs. Has no idea why they flagged him. But these agents are not known for their sense of humor, so he's being patient and just waiting. I see him talking to the agent, then he starts putting his stuff back in the knapsack. When he comes over I ask him what that was all about.
Remember that wine we had way back in Denali? To toast Michele and Steven's dad? Well, Steven had bought a small corkscrew to open it with. It had a small blade (less than an inch long) attached to it and it said "Denali" on it. When we left there, he tossed it in the bottom of his knapsack and forgot about it.
Well security didn't forget it. They confiscated it. The entire thing wasn't more than three and half inches from top to bottom, it was obviously a forgotten souvenier...but they took it. Honestly, there is no such thing as "flying the friendly skies" anymore. Between surly security agents and the lack of amenties onboard (including space to breathe, tiny bags of pretzels or peanuts -- and don't ask for a second bag!) it's got to be the most unpleasant mode of travel on the planet.
We took a car, a boat, a ship, a train, a plane and a horse-drawn trolly on this trip. I think the trolley was my favorite. It was rainy, cold and hard to see with the rain streaming down the plexiglass window. But the hard seats had hand-made quilts to cover with (one for each person), the driver and the guide were pleasant and friendly, and there was time and space to relax and enjoy. The train comes in second -- it was warmer, the views were incredible...and we got to eat in the dining car (which, by the way, had tablecloths on the tables, fresh flowers and just oozed elegance!). The plane? LEAST favorite, although I enjoy flying. It's the airlines and the whole process. They're doing their best to take the fun out of it.
But we are home! I'll get pictures organized and uploaded as I can. Unfortunately, school starts tomorrow for me and time is no longer my own :(.
Till later!
Cindy
We got in last night around 10:30 Eastern -- an hour before our itinerary said we should. So I think the travel agent added wrong. Ave Bauder picked us up in his van and he brought Steven and me home then dropped Steven's mom off before heading for home himself. By the time we got to bed it was well after midnight.
Ben's well and made it through the time alone just fine. I think this was a good rehearsal for him for when he goes off to college. He got to try out being on his own for a short time and was (mostly) responsible. Grass needed cutting when we got back, but then again, I hadn't put it on the chore list, thinking he'd see it was to his knees and just do it. Silly me!
But everything was clean (he did all his own laundry Sunday 'cause he didn't want to make me do it after being on vacation) and neat. No complaints at all!
We've talked to Kate several times today...I like Skype! She showed me her dorm room via her web cam; we'll get to see it live on Saturday. She's taking the bus to Buffalo and we're picking her up at the station. She needs drafting paper so we'll get that first then out to the Walden Galleria for some shopping and lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Although I like their appetizers and desserts -- who needs an entree?
Steven gained four pounds over this vacation...I lost four. All that seafood I was eating! Now I'm thinking I need to learn how to cook seafood...
Our flight was uneventful, which is just how we like them to be. Going through the Vancouver airport was long and I'm glad we got there two hours early. By the time we made it through customs and security we only had a half an hour till boarding. Of course, it didn't help that we were traveling with a dangerous criminal. Everyone else had already gone through security and headed to the gate. Steven was the last one through. I'm over by a bench putting on my sneakers when I see the guard flag Steven over to the table where they go through your belongings with a fine tooth comb.
He was carrying two bags -- his knapsack and an overnight traveling bag. They searched the overnight bag...nothing. He looks at me and shrugs. Has no idea why they flagged him. But these agents are not known for their sense of humor, so he's being patient and just waiting. I see him talking to the agent, then he starts putting his stuff back in the knapsack. When he comes over I ask him what that was all about.
Remember that wine we had way back in Denali? To toast Michele and Steven's dad? Well, Steven had bought a small corkscrew to open it with. It had a small blade (less than an inch long) attached to it and it said "Denali" on it. When we left there, he tossed it in the bottom of his knapsack and forgot about it.
Well security didn't forget it. They confiscated it. The entire thing wasn't more than three and half inches from top to bottom, it was obviously a forgotten souvenier...but they took it. Honestly, there is no such thing as "flying the friendly skies" anymore. Between surly security agents and the lack of amenties onboard (including space to breathe, tiny bags of pretzels or peanuts -- and don't ask for a second bag!) it's got to be the most unpleasant mode of travel on the planet.
We took a car, a boat, a ship, a train, a plane and a horse-drawn trolly on this trip. I think the trolley was my favorite. It was rainy, cold and hard to see with the rain streaming down the plexiglass window. But the hard seats had hand-made quilts to cover with (one for each person), the driver and the guide were pleasant and friendly, and there was time and space to relax and enjoy. The train comes in second -- it was warmer, the views were incredible...and we got to eat in the dining car (which, by the way, had tablecloths on the tables, fresh flowers and just oozed elegance!). The plane? LEAST favorite, although I enjoy flying. It's the airlines and the whole process. They're doing their best to take the fun out of it.
But we are home! I'll get pictures organized and uploaded as I can. Unfortunately, school starts tomorrow for me and time is no longer my own :(.
Till later!
Cindy
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sunday, August 30th
I'm adding this from the Vancouver airport. An airport that is HUGE. Took us over an hour to get from the front door, through customs, through security and an opportunity to sit down. We board the plane for Detroit in about 15 minutes and then off to Rochester from there.
I did post Friday and Saturday's entries below. Won't write much now since we're boarding soon. See everyone soon!!
I did post Friday and Saturday's entries below. Won't write much now since we're boarding soon. See everyone soon!!
Saturday, August 29th
Onboard ship – Inside Passage
7:36 AM
Fog this morning. I woke up a couple hours ago and saw the shore slipping past, but woke up at seven and can see nothing. The fog horns are blaring but it really makes you realize how much easier today’s navigator’s have it with their GPS systems. I can’t imagine trying to steer through this with no instrumentation. I can barely see the water below us it’s that thick.
Noon
Steven’s taken a seasick pill but I’m hoping I won’t need to. Since last night the motion has been a gentle rocking. Not bad…but constant. It’s gotten to him and I’m hoping I can keep it from getting to me. I only had two buttermilk pancakes for breakfast with a glass of apple juice to help that.
Had a massage this morning. My masseuse was one of the dancers from the show last night. She may be petite but boy, is she strong! I was expecting a wimpy little massage like we get at home with the soft music and aromatherapy candles. Wrong! This was more like the massages you see in sports movies where she beats your muscles into submission. I have to admit though, while my spirit isn’t as relaxed, my body sure is!
I also have to admit I’ve done no work on any of my books this entire vacation. I had visions of sitting on the deck and writing my heart out. But it’s far too chilly for deck-sitting and there have been so many things to do that I haven’t wanted to miss out on. Now I need a month to just sit at the cabin and digest all this.
But unfortunately, school starts Tuesday for me. Back to the grind and stress. Summer’s over. Till then, however, I intend to pull a Scarlet O’Hara and let tomorrow take care of itself. I’m having too much fun to let a little thing like school spoil it!
Steven went to a presentation on disembarking. We’ve been wondering how we get our luggage from here to the airport and checking in there and getting boarding passes and all that. Apparently we’re going to get a packet delivered to our staterooms this evening that has all that information in it. I do hope we get one more breakfast aboard the Statendam. We dock at 7:00 am in Vancouver tomorrow – but their breakfasts are really, really good!
5:07 pm
Have just finished the Walk for the Cure – supposedly 5K, but we only did 12 times around the deck which is 3 miles. Steven came in first (of course) despite the fact that it was a non-competitive walk. He just walks really fast. He lapped me at lap three and five (my time). His final time: 40 min, 30 sec. Mine? 56 min, 32 sec. Not bad at all!
The day has turned beautiful. It’s our last day and although we could have wished for less fog and clouds earlier in the trip, right now Canada is clear and the colors vivid. We’re going through our narrowest channel -- it’s only seven-tenths of a mile across – and we have to do it at low tide because it gets wicked currents later. But the land seems so close you could touch it!
Off to dinner!
9:53 pm
Dinner was certainly a show tonight in the staid Rotterdam Dining Room. The wait staff combined with the Statendam Singers and Dancers to put on quite the spectacular. They entered to music with several of the wait staff carrying mounds of napkins. In time to the music, a second waiter would flip the napkin off the mound, give it a flourish and place it on a diner’s lap. Our roll was already on the plate and another waiter came around and put a delicacy on the plate beside it. I have no idea what it was, but I suspect a seafood of some time. I ate mine AND Steven’s, since he doesn’t like seafood of any sort.
There was a dance for the salad where the lead waiters came out banging on the huge salad bowls and the others followed with bowls of vegetables to mix together. By this time everyone was wearing the chef hats that had been at our places when we sat down.
The main meal progressed quietly…but then it was time for dessert. Again a big production with dancing in the aisles and a big pop of champagne corks at the end that popped out long gold and silver streamers. Yes, I got one for the scrapbook! The dessert was Neapolitan ice cream covered with meringue. Delicious!
Afterward Steven walked down to see the variety show, but I just wanted to sit on our veranda and watch the sun set and read. First time the sun’s been out this whole voyage and I didn’t want it to end. He joined me about 20 minutes later saying the show wasn’t very good. We watched till the sun was long gone and then he wanted to stay out a bit longer and I was getting chilled without the sun. So I headed down to the casino to lose the ten dollars I hadn’t been able to lose this afternoon.
Checking back, I see I didn’t write about that. In brief: I stopped at the casino in my travels at one point early this afternoon and decided to play the same machines Steven’s mom had been playing. I lost three of the ten dollars I’d decided to play, so I went to a different machine. I hit it almost immediately and ended up with $12.25. I know to quit while I’m ahead, so I’d stopped.
But that ten was burning a hole in my pocket, so I went again. Sat down at the same game but a different slot machine. Put in my ten and within three minutes had hit for seventeen! I walked in with ten and walked out with twenty-seven. Figured that was as far as my luck would take me, so again – I walked away like a good girl.
There’s a string quartet that plays on board and we’ve caught pieces of their playing as we’ve walked by the very quiet, very private lounge where they play. Tonight we made a point to go listen. They’re quite good and there’s just something perfect about ending a sea voyage listening to Hayden and Vivaldi while sipping a pina colada. Yes, I know it should have been a cognac, but I’ve never had it and decided I’ve had enough firsts for one trip.
Our suitcases are packed and ready to go…they need to be in the corridor by midnight. We have to be at the gangplank for disembarking by 8:00 tomorrow morning, so I will say good night!
7:36 AM
Fog this morning. I woke up a couple hours ago and saw the shore slipping past, but woke up at seven and can see nothing. The fog horns are blaring but it really makes you realize how much easier today’s navigator’s have it with their GPS systems. I can’t imagine trying to steer through this with no instrumentation. I can barely see the water below us it’s that thick.
Noon
Steven’s taken a seasick pill but I’m hoping I won’t need to. Since last night the motion has been a gentle rocking. Not bad…but constant. It’s gotten to him and I’m hoping I can keep it from getting to me. I only had two buttermilk pancakes for breakfast with a glass of apple juice to help that.
Had a massage this morning. My masseuse was one of the dancers from the show last night. She may be petite but boy, is she strong! I was expecting a wimpy little massage like we get at home with the soft music and aromatherapy candles. Wrong! This was more like the massages you see in sports movies where she beats your muscles into submission. I have to admit though, while my spirit isn’t as relaxed, my body sure is!
I also have to admit I’ve done no work on any of my books this entire vacation. I had visions of sitting on the deck and writing my heart out. But it’s far too chilly for deck-sitting and there have been so many things to do that I haven’t wanted to miss out on. Now I need a month to just sit at the cabin and digest all this.
But unfortunately, school starts Tuesday for me. Back to the grind and stress. Summer’s over. Till then, however, I intend to pull a Scarlet O’Hara and let tomorrow take care of itself. I’m having too much fun to let a little thing like school spoil it!
Steven went to a presentation on disembarking. We’ve been wondering how we get our luggage from here to the airport and checking in there and getting boarding passes and all that. Apparently we’re going to get a packet delivered to our staterooms this evening that has all that information in it. I do hope we get one more breakfast aboard the Statendam. We dock at 7:00 am in Vancouver tomorrow – but their breakfasts are really, really good!
5:07 pm
Have just finished the Walk for the Cure – supposedly 5K, but we only did 12 times around the deck which is 3 miles. Steven came in first (of course) despite the fact that it was a non-competitive walk. He just walks really fast. He lapped me at lap three and five (my time). His final time: 40 min, 30 sec. Mine? 56 min, 32 sec. Not bad at all!
The day has turned beautiful. It’s our last day and although we could have wished for less fog and clouds earlier in the trip, right now Canada is clear and the colors vivid. We’re going through our narrowest channel -- it’s only seven-tenths of a mile across – and we have to do it at low tide because it gets wicked currents later. But the land seems so close you could touch it!
Off to dinner!
9:53 pm
Dinner was certainly a show tonight in the staid Rotterdam Dining Room. The wait staff combined with the Statendam Singers and Dancers to put on quite the spectacular. They entered to music with several of the wait staff carrying mounds of napkins. In time to the music, a second waiter would flip the napkin off the mound, give it a flourish and place it on a diner’s lap. Our roll was already on the plate and another waiter came around and put a delicacy on the plate beside it. I have no idea what it was, but I suspect a seafood of some time. I ate mine AND Steven’s, since he doesn’t like seafood of any sort.
There was a dance for the salad where the lead waiters came out banging on the huge salad bowls and the others followed with bowls of vegetables to mix together. By this time everyone was wearing the chef hats that had been at our places when we sat down.
The main meal progressed quietly…but then it was time for dessert. Again a big production with dancing in the aisles and a big pop of champagne corks at the end that popped out long gold and silver streamers. Yes, I got one for the scrapbook! The dessert was Neapolitan ice cream covered with meringue. Delicious!
Afterward Steven walked down to see the variety show, but I just wanted to sit on our veranda and watch the sun set and read. First time the sun’s been out this whole voyage and I didn’t want it to end. He joined me about 20 minutes later saying the show wasn’t very good. We watched till the sun was long gone and then he wanted to stay out a bit longer and I was getting chilled without the sun. So I headed down to the casino to lose the ten dollars I hadn’t been able to lose this afternoon.
Checking back, I see I didn’t write about that. In brief: I stopped at the casino in my travels at one point early this afternoon and decided to play the same machines Steven’s mom had been playing. I lost three of the ten dollars I’d decided to play, so I went to a different machine. I hit it almost immediately and ended up with $12.25. I know to quit while I’m ahead, so I’d stopped.
But that ten was burning a hole in my pocket, so I went again. Sat down at the same game but a different slot machine. Put in my ten and within three minutes had hit for seventeen! I walked in with ten and walked out with twenty-seven. Figured that was as far as my luck would take me, so again – I walked away like a good girl.
There’s a string quartet that plays on board and we’ve caught pieces of their playing as we’ve walked by the very quiet, very private lounge where they play. Tonight we made a point to go listen. They’re quite good and there’s just something perfect about ending a sea voyage listening to Hayden and Vivaldi while sipping a pina colada. Yes, I know it should have been a cognac, but I’ve never had it and decided I’ve had enough firsts for one trip.
Our suitcases are packed and ready to go…they need to be in the corridor by midnight. We have to be at the gangplank for disembarking by 8:00 tomorrow morning, so I will say good night!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Onboard ship – Ketchikan, Alaska port of call
7:21 am
I made it through the night! When the ship was still in the calmer waters of the Inside Passage last night, the movement of the ship was side-to-side. It felt as if we were passing through another ship’s wake from starboard to port – a really, really big ship’s wake. When we got back to the stateroom after desserts I had to walk uphill to get to the veranda. And when I left the veranda to go to the bed, I walked uphill again.
After we turned out the lights, I dozed for quite a while, not really dropping off to sleep. As a result, I knew the moment we entered the Pacific Ocean. Suddenly the ship was rocking from front to back instead of side to side. Up one wave…down a wave….up….and down….and up…and down. Like laying flat on a teeter-totter that doesn’t ever stop.
But thankfully the motion just put me to sleep this time. I lay there actually enjoying it for a while and when I woke up, it was nearly light. Since dawn was at five-something this morning, I rolled over and went back to sleep. Steven’s now out doing his mile walk and I’m still being lazy.
We’ve turned south along the shore and although rain is in the forecast, the sun’s peeking out over the mountains. Took some pictures (of course).
9:11 pm
Amazing how many days of magic we’ve had here. Do we make it ourselves? Or does it follow us? Or is it all coincidence? I’ll leave the philosophizing for others and simply tell the story…
Went into Ketchikan today around 2:00 just after we docked. Steven and I had booked a horse-drawn trolley tour through the city (pop. 8000); we called home and talked to the kids before getting on the trolley. They’re doing fine. Since we didn’t know anything about Ketchikan, this tour seemed a good way to get an overview of the highlights, especially since it was only 45 minutes long.
Our tour guide (Wind) is a Tlingit of the Frog Clan and knew a lot about Ketchikan since he was born here. The city is actually on an island that is mostly rock with only about 6 inches to a foot of dirt on top. Same narrow staircases here going up, but the longest is “only” about 170 steps.
The coolest part of the tour was the information that the salmon had begun their run. All throughout Alaska everyone kept talking about how things would be once the salmon began their yearly trek up the rivers. The females lay their eggs upstream very near where they themselves were born. Then the males swim upstream against the current and up over the waterfalls to get to the eggs. They do their thing and then die shortly thereafter.
Well, in Ketchikan, the salmon are running now! Later in the afternoon we walked over to Creek Street and stood on the bridge that crosses the river. I have never seen so many fish in my life! The stream was only about 30-40 feet across and didn’t look all that deep, but it was filled with grey salmon in every inch. In fact, if you could walk on the fish, you could easily walk from one side to the other without any problem at all. Thousands of them all looking as if they were simply sitting in the water, but their fins were going back and forth for all they were worth, just to stay in place against the current.
Further up was a set of waterfalls and periodically you’d see one flip up…but in fact, that was one falling down. One who hadn’t made it on the first try. The smell of fish was in the air, but it wasn’t overwhelming at all. And yes, there were dead fish in the water, too. Males who had tried and literally given it their all, but who hadn’t succeeded.
Creek Street, Ketchikan is one of the oldest streets and still has most of the original buildings. The city’s not that old, having been part of the gold rush. This street is really a pedestrian walkway on pilings…and the shops are on pilings over the creek as well. I have to admit, we’re about shopped out, but found here real Alaskan shops rather than the tourist traps down by the wharf. Actually, this was the real wharf all those years ago, but since they have to blast rock out to put in houses, the unused rock was put down in the harbor, so the city’s actually moved out closer to sea over the years.
Anyway, we had fun wandering in and out, making a few small purchases and talking with people who live here all year round and are more interested in selling Ketchikan than trinkets. At the very end of the street was one last building with an art gallery of native art on the first floor and a bookshop on the second.
Now those of you who know me, know I can never pass up a bookshop. I’d been in several in Juneau, all independently owned, and had been a little disappointed in the offerings. But as I walked up the stairs there were two posters on the angled ceiling, one of the Paul Taylor dance company, the other of the Alvin Ailey dance company. I knew this was going to be special as I’ve taken master dance classes with both in my younger days.
Now the bookshop is in the attic of this building, and there’s a loft as well. Lots of nooks and crannies and wonderful books around every corner. Native art tucked in here and there and in general, just a lot of good vibrations. The Tlingit people are artisans and over the past few days we’ve become pretty good at identifying the various representations of the animals. There’s a sunburst that I’ve wanted for my room at the cabin, but couldn’t find one that I could afford. They range from carvings of thousands of dollars to prints of several hundred dollars. All out of my price range.
But here in the shop I found, believe it or not, a T-shirt in the exact burnt orange that would be perfect in that room. I decided to get it and turn it into a pillow. But you have to see the clerk to get one, since all that is out is a model. By this time Steven has caught up to me, having found the Tlingit symbol for “thank you” and “welcome”. He’s decided to get it to hang in the cabin’s front hallway as a way of welcoming people in. We go up to the clerk (who turns out to be the owner) and request the T-shirt and we get to talking about the cabin and what we’re doing.
She asks where our cabin is and is surprised when we say “New York” – she thought we were Alaskans! What a wonderful compliment! She then asks whereabouts in NY and when we tell her Plattsburg, just south of Naples, she grins and tells us she was born in Canandaigua! She lived there only five years though before moving to Rochester. She went to Mercy, at which point I confessed to being a Kearney kid.
Well, we had a great time swapping stories and talking about Alaska and the Finger Lakes and Rochester…when she happened to tell us her maiden name: Maggie Boyle. Steven said the only Boyle he knew was Barbara Boyle in Waterloo; they’d gone to St. Mary’s together. She got very excited at that point – Barbara is her cousin!
We talked for over 45 minutes and would have loved to stay longer. In fact, we would’ve gone to dinner together if we didn’t have a ship to catch. She told us if we missed the ship not to worry, we had a place to stay with her. We also told her the next time she comes back to Rochester to please let us know so we could at least have our dinner then. We’re going to try and find each other on Facebook.
I tell you, it absolutely made our day. We floated back to the ship and have grinned all evening. Kindred spirits finding each other so many miles from home!
By the way, we’ve gone from the tundra desert of the north to a rainforest! Ketchikan gets more rain than any other city in the US. They get a little snow in the winter, but no more than 65 inches total. A LOT calmer winter than Rochester’s. Wind told us (on our tour) that they never cancel a game for rain, but they do cancel for sunshine. No one comes to the games and who wants to play with the sun in your eyes? They had a “drought” earlier this year…there was no rain for 28 days in a row and they were worried.
Later:
Ate at the Rotterdam again last night. These fancy meals have added pounds, I’m sure. I’m definitely ready to get back to the Wii.
Also went to the Filipino Crew Show late last night. I think I mentioned before the crew is entirely Filipino and Indonesian. Apparently they switch off weeks with one nationality doing a show one week and the other on the opposite week. They started with the Philippines National Anthem and then sang some songs and did some traditional dances. It was a lot of fun.
7:21 am
I made it through the night! When the ship was still in the calmer waters of the Inside Passage last night, the movement of the ship was side-to-side. It felt as if we were passing through another ship’s wake from starboard to port – a really, really big ship’s wake. When we got back to the stateroom after desserts I had to walk uphill to get to the veranda. And when I left the veranda to go to the bed, I walked uphill again.
After we turned out the lights, I dozed for quite a while, not really dropping off to sleep. As a result, I knew the moment we entered the Pacific Ocean. Suddenly the ship was rocking from front to back instead of side to side. Up one wave…down a wave….up….and down….and up…and down. Like laying flat on a teeter-totter that doesn’t ever stop.
But thankfully the motion just put me to sleep this time. I lay there actually enjoying it for a while and when I woke up, it was nearly light. Since dawn was at five-something this morning, I rolled over and went back to sleep. Steven’s now out doing his mile walk and I’m still being lazy.
We’ve turned south along the shore and although rain is in the forecast, the sun’s peeking out over the mountains. Took some pictures (of course).
9:11 pm
Amazing how many days of magic we’ve had here. Do we make it ourselves? Or does it follow us? Or is it all coincidence? I’ll leave the philosophizing for others and simply tell the story…
Went into Ketchikan today around 2:00 just after we docked. Steven and I had booked a horse-drawn trolley tour through the city (pop. 8000); we called home and talked to the kids before getting on the trolley. They’re doing fine. Since we didn’t know anything about Ketchikan, this tour seemed a good way to get an overview of the highlights, especially since it was only 45 minutes long.
Our tour guide (Wind) is a Tlingit of the Frog Clan and knew a lot about Ketchikan since he was born here. The city is actually on an island that is mostly rock with only about 6 inches to a foot of dirt on top. Same narrow staircases here going up, but the longest is “only” about 170 steps.
The coolest part of the tour was the information that the salmon had begun their run. All throughout Alaska everyone kept talking about how things would be once the salmon began their yearly trek up the rivers. The females lay their eggs upstream very near where they themselves were born. Then the males swim upstream against the current and up over the waterfalls to get to the eggs. They do their thing and then die shortly thereafter.
Well, in Ketchikan, the salmon are running now! Later in the afternoon we walked over to Creek Street and stood on the bridge that crosses the river. I have never seen so many fish in my life! The stream was only about 30-40 feet across and didn’t look all that deep, but it was filled with grey salmon in every inch. In fact, if you could walk on the fish, you could easily walk from one side to the other without any problem at all. Thousands of them all looking as if they were simply sitting in the water, but their fins were going back and forth for all they were worth, just to stay in place against the current.
Further up was a set of waterfalls and periodically you’d see one flip up…but in fact, that was one falling down. One who hadn’t made it on the first try. The smell of fish was in the air, but it wasn’t overwhelming at all. And yes, there were dead fish in the water, too. Males who had tried and literally given it their all, but who hadn’t succeeded.
Creek Street, Ketchikan is one of the oldest streets and still has most of the original buildings. The city’s not that old, having been part of the gold rush. This street is really a pedestrian walkway on pilings…and the shops are on pilings over the creek as well. I have to admit, we’re about shopped out, but found here real Alaskan shops rather than the tourist traps down by the wharf. Actually, this was the real wharf all those years ago, but since they have to blast rock out to put in houses, the unused rock was put down in the harbor, so the city’s actually moved out closer to sea over the years.
Anyway, we had fun wandering in and out, making a few small purchases and talking with people who live here all year round and are more interested in selling Ketchikan than trinkets. At the very end of the street was one last building with an art gallery of native art on the first floor and a bookshop on the second.
Now those of you who know me, know I can never pass up a bookshop. I’d been in several in Juneau, all independently owned, and had been a little disappointed in the offerings. But as I walked up the stairs there were two posters on the angled ceiling, one of the Paul Taylor dance company, the other of the Alvin Ailey dance company. I knew this was going to be special as I’ve taken master dance classes with both in my younger days.
Now the bookshop is in the attic of this building, and there’s a loft as well. Lots of nooks and crannies and wonderful books around every corner. Native art tucked in here and there and in general, just a lot of good vibrations. The Tlingit people are artisans and over the past few days we’ve become pretty good at identifying the various representations of the animals. There’s a sunburst that I’ve wanted for my room at the cabin, but couldn’t find one that I could afford. They range from carvings of thousands of dollars to prints of several hundred dollars. All out of my price range.
But here in the shop I found, believe it or not, a T-shirt in the exact burnt orange that would be perfect in that room. I decided to get it and turn it into a pillow. But you have to see the clerk to get one, since all that is out is a model. By this time Steven has caught up to me, having found the Tlingit symbol for “thank you” and “welcome”. He’s decided to get it to hang in the cabin’s front hallway as a way of welcoming people in. We go up to the clerk (who turns out to be the owner) and request the T-shirt and we get to talking about the cabin and what we’re doing.
She asks where our cabin is and is surprised when we say “New York” – she thought we were Alaskans! What a wonderful compliment! She then asks whereabouts in NY and when we tell her Plattsburg, just south of Naples, she grins and tells us she was born in Canandaigua! She lived there only five years though before moving to Rochester. She went to Mercy, at which point I confessed to being a Kearney kid.
Well, we had a great time swapping stories and talking about Alaska and the Finger Lakes and Rochester…when she happened to tell us her maiden name: Maggie Boyle. Steven said the only Boyle he knew was Barbara Boyle in Waterloo; they’d gone to St. Mary’s together. She got very excited at that point – Barbara is her cousin!
We talked for over 45 minutes and would have loved to stay longer. In fact, we would’ve gone to dinner together if we didn’t have a ship to catch. She told us if we missed the ship not to worry, we had a place to stay with her. We also told her the next time she comes back to Rochester to please let us know so we could at least have our dinner then. We’re going to try and find each other on Facebook.
I tell you, it absolutely made our day. We floated back to the ship and have grinned all evening. Kindred spirits finding each other so many miles from home!
By the way, we’ve gone from the tundra desert of the north to a rainforest! Ketchikan gets more rain than any other city in the US. They get a little snow in the winter, but no more than 65 inches total. A LOT calmer winter than Rochester’s. Wind told us (on our tour) that they never cancel a game for rain, but they do cancel for sunshine. No one comes to the games and who wants to play with the sun in your eyes? They had a “drought” earlier this year…there was no rain for 28 days in a row and they were worried.
Later:
Ate at the Rotterdam again last night. These fancy meals have added pounds, I’m sure. I’m definitely ready to get back to the Wii.
Also went to the Filipino Crew Show late last night. I think I mentioned before the crew is entirely Filipino and Indonesian. Apparently they switch off weeks with one nationality doing a show one week and the other on the opposite week. They started with the Philippines National Anthem and then sang some songs and did some traditional dances. It was a lot of fun.
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