What to wear???

 My ever helpful west coast brother has informed me that today is National OOTD day.  Outfit Of The Day - I had to look it up.  I find this an interesting day because I am one of those people who like to plan ahead and know what they are going to wear tomorrow, depending on what the plans are for the day.  I also like to plan ahead as much as possible when I'm packing for a trip.

I start sometimes weeks ahead of an upcoming trip gathering clothes into a nice empty guestroom closet.  Our last trip was a real challenge because we would be traveling for a month and in places that ranged from 80 degree highs (Tokyo) to 55 degree highs (Alaska).  The key of course is layers and my spouse and I find vests very convenient - lots of pockets - no need for me to carry a purse.  

For most of our excursions off the ship I wore jeans and the same layers on top, a tee-shirt, my faithful Scotts vest, my burgundy hooded sweatshirt and my waterproof rain jacket (also a Scotts product with lots of pockets).   

When we got off the ship in Alaska for land excursions we were required to carry our key card for our stateroom, which was used to record when we got off and back on the ship, thus assuring that no one would be left behind, and a legal ID like a driver's license or passport. 

One afternoon, as my wonder spouse and I were ready to get back on the ship I discovered, after a frantic search through all the pockets in my jeans, vest and jacket, that I had not brought my ID with me.  What to do?  My spouse volunteered to go to the ship, get my license and bring it back while I waited.  It wasn't raining or anything so I was willing to wait, but after a little discussion one of the young men there to assist pasengers back on to the ship (about a 10 minute walk away) simply escorted us back to the ship, and made sure I could go aboard without my driver's license.  

All of this was done with the cheerfulness that every Viking crew member demonstrates.  Another reason that I will always travel with Viking. 

a story from my youth...

 Our ride on the canal boat yesterday reminded me of a memory from my youth that I would like to share.  After my sophmore year in high school I had a summer job as a house keeper/cook for an elderly lady (she was probably the age I am now).  I would stay with her all week and go home (only a few miles away) on weekends when one of her grandchildren would stay with her.

It was not a hard job.  Mrs. F was not a demanding person except for her unfortunate liking of breakfast at 6:00am.  When we were not busy we would talk and I really enjoyed her stories of what life was like when she and her husband (long since passed) had first moved to their 80 acre farm.  This would have been in the late 1800s.  I'm not sure what the price of farm land in north east Indiana was at that time but I'm pretty sure it wasn't very much. 

A side note here, when I worked for her, Mrs. F had just sold 75 of her 80 acres to BF Goodrich for a very handsome price (or so I was told).  Goodrich built their plant on what had been her land and a couple of years later many of my classmates got their first jobs after high school graduation there.  A few went on to spend their entire working life with BF Goodrich. 

But back to Mrs. F's story.  When she and her husband first moved to their farm the Wabash and Erie Canal ran along one side of their property.  Years later we could still see the remnants of the canal in the deep ditch on the north side of Highway 24.  

She told me that all of their furniture and farm equipment was delivered by canal boat.  The boat would stop at their landing and unload everything they had ordered.  I found it so fascinating that she had lived through an era in history that we had learned about while studying Indiana History in school.  

Born about 1880, died about 1964, imagine all the changes she had seen in her life.  

One more note about the canal.  When my west coast brother, who is 10 years younger than I am, was about five years old our family was driving along Highway 24 and my dad commented that the deep ditch along the road was the site of part of the old canal and that it had all been dug out by hand.  "Weren't they allowed to use shovels?" asked my brother.  

Sweet Breeze

 I know I said that, after our recent three week North Pacific Viking cruise, my wonder spouse and I would not be cruising again any time soon.  In fact I may have implied that that was our last cruise ever.  

Yet here we are, home only a week from our trip, and we went cruising again today.  Granted it was only a 90-minute cruise on a replica of a canal boat from the late 1800s, but still we were on a vessel moving over water.  The Saint Joe and Saint Mary's rivers to be specific. 

By the way, do you know the difference between a ship and a boat? The captain of our ship on our recent cruise made very sure that we understood that we were on a ship not a boat.  A ship carries boats (life boats, tenders etc.), a boat does not.  

But getting back to today's cruise, we were definitely on a boat, not a ship. The docent was very informative and we learned a lot about Fort Wayne history from the 1600s on.  

An inside view of the boat.  It's a flat bottom boat, very stable.

I couldn't get a good picture of the full length of the boat but these pictures give you an idea of what it looked like.

I highly recommend a ride on the Sweet Breeze.  I also recommend, if you're going on the 90 minute cruise, that you take along a cushion.  Those wooden chairs are hard. 

old enough...

 I should have known better.  I am old enough and experienced enough to know better, but some lessons seem to need to be learned over and over again.

Here's the lesson I should have learned long ago.  Don't try to chew a Milk Dud.  It is far better to simply let them dissolve in your mouth, and they last longer. 

I just relearned this lesson by biting into a Milk Dud.  If you're not familiar with Milk Duds, they are nickle-sized mounds of caramel coated in chocolate.  Quite delicious actually, but made to eat cautiously because caramel is sticky stuff.

It's late Saturday afternoon now, and I'm not in any pain, but Monday (hopefully) I will be seeing my dentist.  He will be pleased to know that I saved the crown, and, after cleaning off any lingering bits of caramel, he will reattach the crown to the appropriate molar.  

Lesson learned, hopefully for the last time.  Of course I should never eat Milk Duds again, or caramels of any sort, but I am making no promises.

a new old house

 My wonder spouse and I just got home from a house tour and dinner with his oldest granddaughter and other family members.  His granddaughter (age 27) has just closed on the first home she has ever owned and we were invited to come see it.  She hasn't moved in yet but it's really hers.  

I have always enjoyed touring empty houses.  This goes way back to my 25 years as a real estate agent.  I always took great pleasure in finding the "perfect" house for my buyers.  I once had a buyer who said "This is it." as we stood on the front porch of a house.  We hadn't even gone inside yet but she liked the feel of the house and the neighborhood.  They did buy that house.  

I was very pleased with our granddaughter's house. We had driven by before but had never seen the inside.  The house she bought is older, in an old established part of the city and it has lots of excellent features (at least ones that appealed to me).  For instance, it had high ceilings, a feature I have always appreciated.  The bathrooms and kitchen had all been remodeled, the flooring was new throughout the house and there were some interesting architectural features.  It also had a front porch that spanned the entire width of the house.  I have always loved big front porches.  All in all a great starter home.

Maybe we should buy her a porch swing???

Bear with me...

 I know that I've been home for almost a week now but I still haven't quite gotten back into the routine of blogging every day.  I fully intend to do so, so bear with me.

Bear is an interesting word. It, of course, refers to the animal, which, as we learned on our trip, comes in brown, black, grizzly, polar and Kodiak.  There are probably others but these are the ones I remember. 

But the same word, bear, can mean to carry something as in "Don't let that bear bear you away."  It can also be a request for understanding as in "Bear with me while I try to find someone to help rescue you from the bear."

Then of course there is the homophone bare.  You can bare your soul or bare yourself by taking your clothes off.  Neither of these activites will help you much if you're confronted by a bear. 

We got lots of advice about dealing with bears during our recent time in Alaska.  The number one rule was don't carry food with you when you go wandering into a woods where there might be bears.  Another good bit of information was that bears don't really hibernate.  They do sleep in their caves for most of the winter months but they are not really hibernating.  If you poke a sleeping bear it will awake suddenly, will be able to move quickly, and will not be happy with you.  Best just to avoid caves that look dark and comfy.  In the spring, mama bears will not let you play with their cute little cubs, so bear that in mind as you go hiking. 

The closest we got to bears was in a natural history museum.  My wonder spouse said this was close enough. 

We were warned that bears can climb trees so trees are not a good escape route.  Bears are omnivorous and eat lots of berries, and salmon when they can get it. However people meat is also acceptable. The best advice we heard was to go walking with someone who runs slower than you do.  I always figured that our guides were sizing us up.  

Latch vs Luck

 One of our tours while in Alaska included a visit to "Potlatch Park."  This park actually had little to do with food, except for the name, but was actually a collection of very fine totem poles.

We did learn the difference between a potluck and potlatch dinner from our cheerful short red-headed guide for this tour, who didn't look at all indigenous but was quite knowledgeable about totem poles.  He was one of many college students from all over the states who had come to Alaska for a summer job.  He not only guided the tour but also drove the bus from our ship to the park.  He admitted that being able to drive a bus helped him get the job.

This all took place in and around Ketchikan, one of the southern most cities in Alaska. In the culture of that area a potluck supper (you may know it as a carry-in dinner) is one where everyone brings something to contribute to the meal while a potlatch is a huge (possibly many day) feast hosted by one person or family for all their friends and neighbors.  As I said, it can go on for days.  There is no expectation of being repaid for this but the giver of the feast can hope for a return feast someday.

Totem poles are not to honor the dead, instead they tell stories of the clan and identify the family.  This one is clearly from the Eagle family.  We were told quite a long legend about the beautiful black haired woman faithfully waiting for her husband to return. 

The blue color in the eyes of this one comes from copper powder.

This is a view of the art work on the end of one of their community houses.  The structure inside with a center pit with benches around the four sides reminded me of kivas I have seen in the south western states.

The expected life of a totem pole is about 50 years.  When they fall down they are left where they fall to be reabsorbed into the natural growth around them.

We're Home!

 My wonder spouse and I have returned home from our month of wandering, and after a few days to unwind, unpack and do laundry, life is beginning to feel "back to normal."  We celebrated Father's Day by having an early supper at our favorite very casual, nearby Mexican restaurant.  Burritos and pineapple water - sooo good.  

On our way back home we noticed that everyone had their garbage bins and recycling bins out by the curb. Ah, yes, Monday is garbage pickup day.  As I gathered trash from the upstairs wastebaskets (my part of the chore) I reflected that a person can get really spoiled on a three week cruise.  Where do those wet towels and filled waste baskets disappear to?

But, now that we are back, and I can blog on my computer, I should be able to include pictures. 

A totem pole in a down down park in Spokane.  More about totems in my next blog.

The rapids that rush through downtown Spokane, a really beautiful city.

A view of the wide open spaces from my west coast brother's little ranch. Is it any wonder that I love it there?

Almost home

 On Monday we disembarked (don't you love long words)? We got off our ship, made it to the Vancouver airport and, to our delight, were able to get an earlier flight to our next destination - Seattle. We were very, very pleased that we could go through customs while still in the Vancouver airport. Big signs saying WELCOME TO THE USA guided us easily and quickly through the process. So quickly in fact that we were then able to get the earlier flight to Seattle, discover after landing that the plane we had just gotten off would be boarding in a half hour to fly to Spokane, our ultimate destination. We had expected to arrive in Spokane by 11:30pm, instead arrived at 7pm to be greeted at the airport by my west coast brother and sister-in-law. And this brings me to the almost home title of this blog. My spouse and I won't actually be home til early Saturday morning, but right now I am at the one place in the world where I feel most at home except for my own home. The unique and very comfortable house and rolling rural vistas in all directions make this an excellent place to be, but it's the family love that makes it feel like home.

On dry land...

 So here we are at the end of our lovely cruise, on dry land again. We have followed all the steps, which, by the way, has involved lots and lots of steps. We have identified our luggage which is now on the way to the Vancouver airport and, in an hour, we will board a bus to follow it there. From there we will fly to Seattle then on to Spokane. 

When we flew to Tokyo at the beginning of this odyssey it was a 13 hour flight from Chicago. Now we are in Vancouver, much closer to our goal, playing the waiting game. And speaking of games this city is decorated with soccer balls. Evidently there will be some big games here later this week.

Meanwhile we are in a comfy hotel dining room waiting for our bus. Passing the time eating cookies and drinking coffee. We must keep our strength up. 

The last night

 Well, here we are. My Wonder Spouse and I are relaxing on our balcony of our state room watching the gently rippling water as the sun sets. It has been a lovely long cruise. I've experienced two big accomplishments. 

The first is stuffing everything I own into my big suitcase and my carry on with a little overflow into my spouse's carry on. He's very understanding.

Second, I think I really saw a whale, and about time. This is my last chance. I saw the long dark shape and the dorsal fin. Of course no picture, there's never time for that. But I feel confident about what I saw and I am content. 

Next stop Vancouver, then Spokane. No more cruising til next time. 

Bears, glaciers and zip lines

 Well no bear sightings yet but we have been warned repeatedly not to carry food with us as we hike. Yesterday was not a problem because our excursion was by catamaran. We sailed through lots of ice chunks to get close to Hubbard glacier. So blue and beautiful. We even drank a Margarita made with glacier ice. The hot chocolate we were given when we got back to our ship was much better. When we get home I will be able to post pictures with my blogs so will play photo catch up then. 

Today we actually ended up doing quite a bit of hiking. We rode a gondola to the top of a mountain, then hiked a long way to the zip line site. So much fun but then another mile plus hike from the zip line touch down to the shore to get a tender back to the ship. The zip line ride was fun but a little chilly compared to our zip ride in the Caribbean. But really fun. I will do it again the next chance I have. 

If you haven't tried it you really should. The zip lining that is, not the glacier Margherita. I should mention we are at Hoonah and Icy Strait Point today.

Different aspects of Alaska

 Yesterday in Homer we  visited the Pratt Museum and today in Seward we visited the Alaska Sea Life Center. We are surrounded by snow capped mountains and today was gloriously sunny so we did enjoy some time in the great outdoors. However the real treats were indoors. 

I am not a big fan of taxidermy but the Pratt did have some excellent stuffed animals including a 10 feet tall grizzly bear. I do not want to meet the real thing. They also had an excellent display of small sculptures made from wood and folded paper and a lovely large quilted wall hanging featuring purple moose and other fanciful creatures. 

Today at the Sea Life Center things got livelier (pun intended). We walked through an amazing display of huge aquariums featuring salmon and sea lions, star fish and anemone, and so much more. Some of the huge tanks were open to the sky. We were looking at one from the underwater level when a duck dived in and way down to the bottom of the tank. I did not know that ducks would dive so deep or stay underwater so long.  

I highly recommend both of these stops the next time you're in Alaska. 

A tour to remember...

 Today we docked in Kodiak, Alaska. As usual, my spouse and I signed up for the included easy tour. It was a misleading description. Our easy walking tour through downtown Kodiak turned into a three hour hike in misty cold rain (45 degrees) up and down sloping streets, along creaking piers with a cold wind in our faces most of the time. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn't it? I have never been more miserably cold on a tour. 

I have also never been so absolutely enthralled by a tour guide. Through the entire tour she told us about fascinating events that had happened in the history of Kodiak. She was a fountain of information about the ups and downs of the fishing industry, earthquakes, tsunamis, bears, ship wrecks, survival suits and so much more. 

We ended the tour at a small, lovely Russian Orthodox cathedral, founded in the early 1700s, where the priest very graciously answered our questions and showed us around. 

When you  visit Kodiak, and you really should, be sure you get Ani Thomas as your guide. Regardless of the weather, you won't be disappointed. Check out kodiakani@gmail.com.

Logical activities

 Today is our fifth day at sea with no sight of land or whales, although we do keep looking. We've listened to several interesting lectures about sharks, bears, whales, salmon and much more. I really do enjoy these educational hours but sometimes a woman needs more. So, no surprise here, I booked some time at the salon for a shampoo, cut and blow dry. The shampoo alone took a half hour because it included a wonderful scalp massage. I'm very pleased with the haircut. Now back to watching for those elusive whales.