ghost kitty???

we have cats at 7420. not two, but, three cats- lucky, lucy, and ellwood. I've never thought of myself as a cat person but at this point i guess you could say i am. they each have distinct personalities.  with our kids choosing to live a world away from little a-town, i can't imagine how lonely our lives might be without our feline companions.

                                                                            Mr. Lucky

life with three cats is not without its share of problems.  there's the expense of buying food and litter, vet visits and shots, hairballs and cat fights.  the list goes on.

                                                                              Miss Lucy

                                                                           Ellwood


but the biggest problem for me is vacuuming.  we have one those shark navigators.  no matter if i vacuum once a week, or every day or two, the shark sucks up what looks to be a whole 'nother kitty. 

yes, there are three of them but could there be a ghost kitty lurking about adding his hair and dander to the mix? just how many cats have passed here at 7420, you might ask.  the answer is-- only one.  our daughter's cat, gus, lived with us while k was away at tech.  maybe the hardest thing I've ever had to do was making the call to tell k i'd  found gus in the driveway.  i thought he was just being a cat-- but he was "gone".  maybe the ghost of gus is roaming the house, contributing his share to the litter box, shedding on the hardwood and area rugs.  but probably not. 

the truth is the three cats and we humans just shed-- a lot!

long live the shark.

aio

that was for you, Mike...

july 2, 2014

i ran 5 miles at noon today for the first time in at least 5 years and probably longer than that. it was 66 degrees at the start. a light rain was falling. I've been running 4 fairly consistently. my buds ran earlier, or not at all due to the rain, i guess.

my eeky-leaky heart was hittin' on all cylinders early.  i run by myself as a rule, either ahead or behind my buds, from the flc at first Baptist. i'm not sure what got into me but i set out to run the mister mister 5 mile course.  running along julian i got to the fork in the road that would have taken me to the 2.5 mile turnaround.  instead of bearing right i stayed left taking me on another of mike's favorite training runs, the wellington course. it's a bit over 5 miles but what the heck, in for a penny, in for a pound. the weather was perfect, what the heck.

on my 4 milers I've been really trying to push the pace, running as hard as i can for as long as i can until my system tells me "okay that's enough".  i walk just long enough for my circ system to recharge then i'm off again. the guys don't see the value in this approach.  their take is to run without stopping but at a slower pace.  who can say which is better?  i find it easier

it's ten years now since mike passed.  we often talk about what he would have to say about the state of our running these days.  yes we're older and heavier but, hey, we're still out there come rain or shine, hot or cold.  most of us are closer to 70 than 60.  come noon time, 4 days a week, we're there at the flc hitting the bricks, carrying on the tradition mike started back in the 70's. 

i think he would be proud.

aio

cruising alaska... three weeks later

it's almost three weeks since we bid ncl's pearl goodbye.  that's hard to believe.  they say time flies when your having fun.  being back to the everyday is anything but that so where have these last days and weeks gone?

I've chronicled some of the happenings on the cruise here. there were amazing first time experiences for all of us.  i was thinking today, as neat as those things were, and are, the best thing about this cruise was spending time and sharing those adventures with family. 

our kids were still young the last time we vacationed with my sis and bud-in-law. sis and her family have always lived in the houston area so it's not like we can visit any time we want.  over the years we've done well to get together once a year; twice if luck smiles on us. having our cousin along made this time all the more special. 

this cruise was a series of firsts. first time to Alaska for the three of them,  first cruise for my sis and her hubby. for my wife and me it was our fifth cruise, the second to Alaska but it is so beautiful it could never get old. though we've been there before this time 'round we took different excursions so the things the other three were seeing for the first time were also a first for us.

truly one could take the same trip every week in a season and not see, or do, all there is to be seen and done.  on board the view is always changing. because your not driving along at 70mph there is time to see that mountain as the ship reveals its beauteous backside view, side view,
then front side.  if you happened to see that same mountain on the return trip the viewing would look totally different.

it was a week of relaxation, of catching up.  it was everything i hoped it would be.  it was alaska and best of all it was time with family.

 

 

i can't wait to do it again. how 'bout ya'll?

aio

cruising alaska-- sunday

sunday morning, a week later, finds us back in seattle.  our Alaskan fun is done.  living in little a-town, flights to get back home are limited.  there is an urgency to disembarkation in order to make that last flight out at 11 am.  we opted to "walk off'' instead of the usual routine of putting our bags outside the cabin the night before. it worked out fine.  we were at the curb by 8:30, called the car company for early pickup and arrived at the airport by a little after 9:00. no worries.  back to the same old, same old, but taking with us some special memories. 

on sunday morning before we sailed we took the fast train to the seattle center and wandered through the northwest folklife festival. it was there we saw a haiku drum group of teen drummers.  their drumming was perfection.  who says the youth of today is going down the wrong road?

monday was an at sea day.  not one cruisers look forward to but this day had an exciting rescue at sea by the Canadian coast guard. the rescued had appendicitis.

tuesday was Juneau and humpback and orca action with a harem of frolicking sea lions on the side. wednesday was Skagway and Haines and the float trip down the chilkat river valley.  i'll not soon forget seeing bald eagles in flight.

thursday we cruised glacier bay and witnessed the margerie  glacier calving quadruplets.  friday was Ketchikan.  the misty fjords were carved by the glaciers into rudyerd bay an ice age ago.  saturday was Victoria, BC.  i'll not soon forget the haunting sounds of 'amazing grace" from an erhu played by an Asian gentleman-- for tips.

it's sunday again, the bags are packed with dirty clothes from a week at sea, our hearts and minds filled with the sights and sounds, with the peace, of a world so different from the flat, dry plains of the texas panhandle.

so long, Alaska, until next time.

aio

cruising alsaka... saturday

 if it's Saturday, we must be in Canada: Victoria, BC to be more exact.'

the pearl pulled in to the pier about 6pm. our stay in Victoria was to be only 6 hours.  we took a tour of Victoria's highlights which meant being bussed around the city while the driver noted various points of interest.  it is a beautiful city with an interesting history.

we visited Victoria on our way back to seattle on our first Alaskan cruise.  this time 'round we got to see more.  our tour took us to mt. doug, the highest point in Victoria.  from up there one can see the city below at every turn. "on a clear day, you can see mt. rainier from up here" said a lady walking her tiny dog.

being in Victoria and in Juneau, Skagway, the glacier bay and in ketchikan pointed up to me how much there is on this big blue marble that passes each day quietly outside my stream of consciousness.  the world just keeps turning. people everywhere live in the moment without being aware of a greater world.

our stop in Victoria was the least exciting for me.  still there will be memories I take with me. for one, pausing a moment to listen to as an Asian gentleman played his erhu in a park across the street from the grand parliament building.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb4mmp5ptaE

the erhu is a two stringed, Chinese, violin. like so many things, I was oblivious to such an instrument existence until it was the featured instrument of a guest artist with our ASO.  haunting is the word i'd use to best describe its sound. like the erhu, there is a world of experiences waiting to be discovered.

visions of this second cruise to alaska will linger in my memory, i'm sure.  from time to time a wispy glimpse of a whale breaching, the scream of an eagle in flight, the sound of thunder before a "calving" or a wisp of mist from the fjords will slip through, the sound of the erhu along for the ride.  sights, sounds and smells remembered will have to do until I can get back to beautiful Alaska once again.

  aio

crusing alaska... friday

if it's Friday, it must be Ketchikan.

today is another excursion with a lot of getting to and from.  allen marine tours (www.allenmarinetours.com) transported us to the misty fjords.  the come on suggested we would see bald eagles, whales and other furry and feathered friends in addition to being able to experience this little corner of the paradise also know as-- Alaska.

It took a while on the high tech catamaran, even with its twin 600 horsepower engines, to get to the fjords.  but there was free coffee, hot chocolate and snacks.  in addition there was an on board naturalist, a Tlingit storyteller and craftsman and a video presentation to help pass the time.

as it turns out we did not see an eagle or a whale, nor any other wild life with the exception of a few sea birds that nest on the sides of the cliffs.   wait, we did see harbor seals hauled up on some rocks on our return trip to Ketchikan.

the fjords are beautiful. i'll let some pictures give you an idea of what we saw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 the punch bowl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

harbor seals

New Eddystone rock

Ketchikan, again.

that street is steep

NCL's Pearl

the misty fords excursion was not exciting but it was fun "flying at sea level" to get to Rudyerd Bay.  

time is nothing to this place.  an ice age ago the glaciers scraped the deeps from solid rock. the seas rushed in to fill the gaps. the mists appeared and the wait began for you to come to marvel in the quiet solitude, the peace; the beauty a gift to be shared with any who may seek it.

that you may not see a whale, or an eagle, is of no consequence. the mists, the 3000 foot cliffs are waiting. come!

aio                  

 

cruising alaska... thursday

on our first cruise to Alaska with Royal Caribbean we visited the mendenhall glacier which we viewed from the visitor center.  the mendenhall did not favor us with any calving activity while we were there though we could see results of previous "calvings" in the water at its base.  as awesome as the mendenhall is the absence of "calving" was a bit disappointing.

this time around we cruised into glacier bay.  our first stop was the margerie glacier where we spent about and hour.   margerie was in a giving mood.  a "calving" is often signaled by a "thunder-like" clap  milliseconds before the "calf" plunges into the water below.  it's a real trick to recognize the sound, locate its proximity and get your camera on it before all the action is over and done with.

I managed to capture-- at least a part of-- 4 "calvings".

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyONzCPAsoc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbHwOdBW6pw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwoKxVUgyTo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMl74Mk0dd4

Again with the spinning watercraft!  not unlike Joe maneuvering our inflatable on the Chilkat the day before, the pilot of the Pearl took us for a little spin as well.  WOW!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWoMsieAQo0

After we left the Margerie, the Pearl visited another of the glaciers in the bay, the Lamplugh glacier.  No calving action was to be seen this time round.  There was much smaller cruise ship positioned nearer the base of the glacier that had apparently allowed some if its passengers to exit the ship in kayaks to explore the glacier more up close and personal.  that would be so cool unless a "calving" crushed your kayak, but exploring by kayak wasn't an option offered by NCL's Pearl.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKEJon-Jn0A

Glacier bay is graced by not only the many glaciers but vistas that must be seen to be believed. The National Park rangers who came on board for our visit to the bay were a bonus, providing us with historical and anecdotal perspective. Enjoying Alaska's splendor has a way of making time as ethereal as the mists on its mountains.
                                                                           

                                                                                  

                                                                                 
                                                                              

It was a beautiful day in Glacier Bay.

aio