Juneau, Alaska

We have hit the big city, Juneau the Capital.  What we liked best about this stop was the proximity to the city.  We could practically fall off the ship into town, it was very close and centrally located.

Mendenhall Glacier and Falls and the kindness of strangers taking photos.

The brown portions are where the glacier is receding.  Sad that someday these will be gone.

You can tell who the locals are, shorts and dogs.

On our way back we took the beach path that only the locals seemed to know about.

There was a visitor center but there was an entrance fee.  We opted to skip it but did glance at the gift shop.  Cookbooks on rhubarb were popular, did not know Alaska grew rhubarb.  Copies of Jack London's books were every where Call of the Wild and White Fang. I think Jacob and I are going to do a summer read of Call of the Wild.

We ate lunch on the ship then headed back into the city.  Found this community board that looked interesting.

We went to Juneau-Douglas City Museum.  Juneau was founded in 1880 by the Gold Rush.  This sign displays the whistle signals for being in a mine.

The museum did a nice job giving the history of the city.  Well worth it.

Pretty homes.

This sign says: Shooting Prohibited Within 1/2 mile of Roadway.  Not something you would see in California.  We headed toward Mt. Roberts Trailhead but did not do the trail.

Another hilly city.  This vacation was a workout.

After dinner we went back out again to do some shopping.  Set sail was not until 8 PM so we enjoyed a nice long day in Juneau.

Icy Strait Point and the village of Hoonah

The day at Icy Strait Point was unexpectedly hot, 75-80 degrees.  Not what you would expect for Alaska.  This was another walking day and we had wished we packed shorts.

Arrival at Icy Strait Point.  Luckily we found some nice people who would take pictures for us. They also informed us of the Horse flies in the area, they bite.

Hoonah City Hall.  Hoonah is on the northeast shore of Chichagof Island and is part of the Tongass National Forest.

Hoonah is the largest Tlingit village in Alaska (70% native). 

Carving Project.

We thought Scott would appreciate this photo of wood chips.

The local library, it was closed.

K-12 school with a gymnasium, public library and swimming pool. Population 760 (2010 Census).

Colette's Cupboard. One of two grocery stores on the island. It was stocked with Kirkland brand food:)

On this Island we found food.  We ate lunch at Chipper Fish and had you guessed it, fish.  Halibut fish and chips. There are silver fish on the side of the restaurant.

Definitely a fishing town.

The local cemetery is on the walk into town.  We manged to find 2 Jews buried there.

Back into the town of Icy Straight Point we did the nature trail.  Very interesting trees.

We did the beach trail also.  We are never far from water.

Culturally, it was a nice visit.  Up next Juneau.

Ketchikan, Alaska

View of Ketchikan from our balcony. The city is known as the Salmon Capital of the World. The irony of that, is that we could not find a good meal in town.  We ate ice cream for a snack and had lunch on the ship.

Our cultural destination for the day was Totem Bight.  On the National Register of Historic Places since 1970, it is dedicated to the preservation, art and history of Totem poles.

This one titled Eagle Grave Marker.  The design is interpreted as mountains, clouds and creatures that live there.

Michael is standing by Blackfish Pole. This Tlingit pole symbolizes the story of the origin of the blackfish.

Sea Monster Pole.  A Village watchman stands guard at the top.  Below are two eagles. Underneath are painted faces representing mountains and clouds, the habitat of eagles. The duck-like beaked creature is the mythical sea monster.

Thunderer's Pole. It symbolizes Thunder belonging to the Thunder House people. Four brothers were changed into thunderers.  Like the Thunderbird, they create thunder and lightning and live high in the sky and on the mountain tops.

Drift wood is very big in Alaska.

Ketchikan is a very hilly city.  Stairs are every where and we walked plenty on this day.

This is Ketchikan Creek. No salmon was swimming that day, we were too early in the season. Creek Street, also known as the Red Light District in 1903.  No longer brothels but tourist shops.

View from our balcony leaving Ketchikan, did I mention we had a rear facing balcony.

Like many of the Alaskan cities that we visited, there are no roads outside the city.  The only way to leave is by plane or boat.

And we are off to our next destination.

Vancouver, Canada

We flew into Vancouver the night before our cruise.  A late flight became later as it was delayed. We finally got to our hotel by 1 AM in the morning and really ready for bed.  The next day we checked into the cruise around 10 AM and then headed back out to see a little of Vancouver.

I thought this city by the ocean was nice and would have liked to see more but we didn't have time and we were still tired from the late night before.

Main tourist spot, the steam powered clock.  I actually liked the old fashioned lights and hanging pots.

Cool architecture.  Michael took this picture for Jacob.  He thought Jacob would like to 3-D model this in Blender.

Wish our post office boxes were this cool.

The scene as we leave Vancouver and head to the inside passage for Alaska.  

Goodbye Mar Vista

After 12 years with Country Villa, I said goodbye to the staff on Thursday June 4th.  The staff could not have been nicer.  They had a breakfast party in my honor and said some really nice stuff about me.  The administrator got me a couple of gifts as well.  I will miss the people but I am looking forward to the change.

I started my new job on Friday June 5th, no rest for the weary.  I have hit the floor running and so far the staff is really supportive.  No buyers remorse yet.

Science Camp

Jacob survived 3 days of science camp in the Santa Monica Mountains and he took pictures to prove it.  Unfortunately his camera battery did not survive the 3 days.  Next camp we will send the charger with him.

Ocean

Mountains and clouds

Birds fighting

Hole

Scenery

Film crew

Green parrot

We are taking Jacob to an event this weekend to "gear up" for his next camp in June in Glendale.

Anniversary Celebrations

15 years of wedded bliss and a carrot cake bomb to boot.

We went to Joe's Restaurant in Venice for our anniversary meal.  Great as usual.  We ended our meal with this sugar bomb; carrot cake with caramel topping, rum raisin ice cream and something that tasted like frosting.  Looking forward to our Alaska cruise in June.