Aug 31, 2012 - Boo hoo!

It's time to head for home. We've spent the day "hunting and gathering" and packing. We made our last "dump run" to take the last of the demolition debris and the recycling. It's always an adventure to go to the dump... We've found some real treasures there as we drop off our junk, we find someone else's junque. Today I actually found a couple of nice dog toys that just need to be washed and a set of pretty nice vintage canisters! I looked them up on eBay and they're selling for $75. What a find! I need to clean them up a little, but...

Aug 22, 2012 - Day 54

Today we took an 8.5 hr day cruise with Kenai Fjords Tours aboard the Tanaina. Our skipper and narrator was Captain Chris and he was excellent. Very good explanations of glaciers and habitat. The cruise started down Resurrection Bay then turned up Aialik Bay, then back to Resurrection Bay to Seward. As we began our cruise down Resurrection Bay, it was pointed out that we were passing three alpine glaciers and that there were four kinds of glaciers; alpine, valley, hanging and tidewater. Alpine glaciers are near the top of mountains, valley...

Aug 20, 2012 - Day 52

Up early to get the coach over to the shop – light rain. Dropped the coach off for repair and drove over to Kriner’s Diner on the suggestion of the service manager. Large portions for the price and good food. Then went out to the base to the Information, Tours and Tickets (ITT) Office to get tickets for the day cruise out of Seward. We then picked up the coach, everything covered under warranty, and proceeded through Anchorage and down the Seward Highway with light rain most of the way. The Seward Highway parallels the Turnagain Arm of Cook...

Aug 15, 2012 - The renovation continues

Fritz finally arrived and I drove up to Anchorage to pick him up. Along the way I saw a pair of Trumpeter Swans in a pond alongside the road. They are bright white against all the shads of green so were easy to spot. A little farther along the road I came upon a pair of young moose. I never saw Mom, but the kids were sure fun to see. A couple of days later we took another trip to Anchorage to pick up some building supplies and this time, in the same pond where I had seen the swans, was a cow moose! When we first drove by she was actually...

Aug 10, 2012 - seward. ak

In Seward, visited sea life center. Seen all of these critters in wild, but getting pic's was hard. the puffins in wild would not stand still for pictures. had opportunity to go on glaicier to visit sled dog training camp. The kids live here with their dogs, getting ready for next idadrod. The puppies were a riot, and dog sled ride was alot of fun, and really enjoyed helo ride up and back. Then, a fish fry. Are leaders donated their share of fish, and some of us chiped in alittle, and I still have about 10lb in freezer. 2 days old, doen't...

Aug 9, 2012 - Seward-AK Day # 3

This is my fishing day. I left about 6am with a group from our RV park. It was an all day fishing trip. We traveled 3 hrs out to sea to get the "big ones". While I was out working my hiney off dragging those fish up from 200ft. No easy task!! Jackie, Bill & Barb went to the Sea Life Institute in Seward. They saw beautiful sea urchins, anemones, star fish, a baby sting ray, a huge pink octopus. All kinds of fish, big & small. There were all types of sea birds including the cute little Puffin. There were sea lions & seals. I called when we...

Aug 8, 2012 - Seward, Ak Day #2

We were all up early as we had to board our boat at 9:30. Boy did we dress for the cold! We layered top, vest, hoodie, and our heaviest coats. First time for this. The water temp and wind make it cool. The boat holds about 200 people. Each person had a reserved table. There were 3 decks for viewing. They had a cafe for snacks, drinks: alcoholic & non-alcoholic. Barb & Bill enjoyed delicious hot chocolate while Jackie & I tried their alcholic hot otter drink (hot chocolate, kahlua, Bailey's Cream and peppermint schnapps) and it was very good...

Aug 8, 2012 - Resurrection Bay

Cruising among glaciers and wildlife and having the advantage of an National Park ranger narrating was both exhilarating and information overload. We joined the Major Marine Tours(recommended by Kris). This was a 5 hour afternoon cruise through the pristine waters of Resurrection Bay. The pictures will tell the story. An all you can buffet of salmon and prime rib was enticing. It equaled some the best prime rib we've ever had. Accompaniments were cranberry horseradish , fresh salad with mandarin oranges, rice pilaf, sourdough bread, and...

Aug 7, 2012 - Army RV Resort - Seward, AK Day #1

We arrived in Seward about 2pm. We had a rough road to travel this morning. Beautiful views of Turnagain Bay. Also saw mountains and glaciers on the way. We checked into an Army RV Resort in Seward. They had an Air Force campground also but it was no nearly as nice as this. I did not know there were 2 military campgrounds. Glad we got the nicer one. Harry says he just picked the 1st one in our military campground book.We have water & electric only. They have a nice laundromat & showers. We checked out part of the town and ate lunch at Rays...

Aug 6, 2012 - Seward paddle and hike

Monday -- We did not do typical anniversary activities today. In fact, it was one of the three days we did separate activities, since hubby is part mountain goat and I am part sea otter. It was not a great day for either of our chosen activities but weather is only a problem when one does not dress appropriately. I donned layers of silk, nylon and fleece under my rain resistant outerwear and hubby dropped me at Miller's Landing for a half-day paddle. He drove back to Seward to challenge himself on Mt. Marathon, the ridiculously steep hike...

Aug 6, 2012 - Anchorage Day #8

Harry got home from Oklahoma about 1:30am. Didn't hear him. He was up early and got the oil changed on the truck. After breakfast, Harry helped me online to get our airline tickets home from Seattle. We leave Sept.16. We went to the base to set up another trip. It will be Wed. Another glacier sight-seeing trip. It will be Wed. by boat. More about this later. We went downtown to shop. We took the trolley tour around Anchorage. Did some more gift shopping. I will get some gifts for my great-grand kids. After downtown, we went to meet an old...

Aug 5, 2012 - Anchorage Day #7

We are still in Anchorage. Another grey day but no rain. We made sure the camper is in order as the kids will be back tonight. We picked Jackie up about 7:15. Harry is not due in until 1:30. He will get a taxi when he gets in. We enjoyed spending the evening listening to Jackie and getting all the highlights of their stay with Harrison. It was a great time for them.