Bottom line up front: This day was the weakest day of the entire Alaska portion of the trip. While the meal and atmosphere which was the focus of our excursion was excellent, the rest of the day under-performed in pretty much every way. I understand there are good reasons for developing the docking facility at … Read more
Today was a cold, damp day, but for the most part I didn’t feel as uncomfortable as yesterday in spite of the colder temperature. The main attraction of the trip for many is the glaciers, and I did enjoy Glacier Bay National Park. But I think I like Hubbard Glagier better than Johns Hopkins. This … Read more
OctoBRRRRR…oh, my. Steady light rain, gale force wind, temperatures in the upper 40’s…what’s not to like about Alaska in October, right? But we knew this was what we were getting ourselves into, and we didn’t let it spoil the day. Deaprting Juneau last night was neat, it’s the first nighttime Juneau dearture we’ve done. The … Read more
Checklist Arrival: scheduled at 2:30pm AKDT, actual 1:08pm AKDT Departure: scheduled at 11:00 (actual unknown, I plan to be asleep). Even though the thermometer read 57-60 degrees, it was a pretty raw day in Juneau today. We’d originally planned to stay aboard, but after I had a massage to loosen up my tight neck, we … Read more
A lot of rolling, lurching and so forth on this day as seas ran 8 feet or higher and we shifted from westerly to souttheasterly wind. I woudn’t say it was uncomfortable at any point, but my hips and Roxan’s knees are feeling the effects of a day of micro-adjustments to maintain standing and walking … Read more
Check-in Time 9:30am PDT I was impressed with how well the check-in process went. Even getting a few minutes late start, at 9:37?. It’s a beautiful day in Seattle, smoke is much less than last night. I hope it remains that way for sail-away! The baseball game that would not end last night made getting … Read more
I’m not sure what happened the previous times we flew to Seattle to go on to Alaska, but there is so much about this trip that is new to my memory…that’s a really odd sensation for me. We had a pretty uneventful flight, which is a good thing. I was struck once again at the … Read more
After the snark that’s flowing off me at the start of vacation, Roxan had to get in on the fun…. E for effort. Irony.
It offends the “handle it one” freak inside of me, but in this case it was the right decision…pack at home just to make sure everything fits, then repack in the hotel to the configuration that means lost luggage won’t make a super-large impact on our trip. That means we’ve separated clothing for each of … Read more
As much as I love Kansas I’m ready to be away for a while. We got out of home ahead of my mental schedule, so I’m feeling pretty relaxed right now. As I write this, I’m riding in Cristi’s car, a rare experience for me because I generally drive. We’re about 1/3 the way to … Read more
Is it just me or does the final few days before a vacation really speed up this much?
I’m a casual photographer at best. It’s a hobby I’ve wanted to invest time in, but have not really been able to until I started traveling 6 years ago. This trip will be exciting from the standpoint of a variety of photo opportunities.