Nina's Place

Alaska: Glacier Bay

We got up at midnight to see if we could see the Aurora but had no luck so I took photos of the moon. 

The ship looks great at night.

I took some photos of the moon while hoping to see the Aurora. No luck but I ran into some kids who work in the Casino. All three were from Manila. Paolo asked me to airdrop this photo to him and I did but I joked with him that he needed to give me credit. When I said I wasn’t interested in gambling Marico and Sam (Samantha ) enthusiastically told me to never, never take up gambling.

This is Sheehan's Bar and Grill. We got gave up looking for Northern Lights around 2:30 and began looking for a drink. When we got here I found another painted rock made by the same person with the same message. I picked it up.

I threw caution to the wind and ordered a Kaluha and a coffee.

Around three we decided to order some fish and chips. We couldn't help ourselves. And then we went to bed.

I took this photo at around 8:30 in the morning. It's one of my favourites from this trip so far.

We are just entering Glacier Bay, part of Glacier Bay National Park which is part of a 25 million acre World Heritage Site. A park ranger boarder the ship near here and started making announcements. It was hard to hear them.

Our first view of a glacier today. I am afraid that I didn't hear which one this one and didn't make many notes.

We were happy to just take in the view. Each glacier looks different.

The Ranger pointed out the moraine, sometimes called glacial till. This is a terminal moraine that is formed at the foot of a glacier.

This is Margerie Glacier. Certainly the most beautiful glacier I’ve ever seen. So beautiful that I'm going to bore you with another photos of it.

The blue is caused by the compression of the ice. Someone who had binoculars said that those two black dots were sea otters.

I thought these were called Ice Floes but it turns out that they are Ice Burgs. Floes are salt water and Ice burgs are fresh water.

This is a cave like the one the man at Mendanhall Glacier talked about.

We went to hear the ranger's talk and then headed to dinner.

The special tonight… roast pig. It was a little dry but you know I love roast pork.

I wasn’t supposed to take this photo.

The best one ever. We took it and put it up high on a shelf. Will Kandi find it?

No luck seeing Aurora tonight either. Once again we met interesting people and enjoyed the moon.

 

Alaska: Skagway, part two

On my own I started to walk to the Historic Cemetery while keeping an eye out for a shuttle. One never came despite the sign that said it came by every fifteen minutes. I later learned that you had to phone the shuttle to come and get you after September28th when the "Tourist Season" officially closes despite the fact that ships are still coming in October.

This train is on the town side of the slide. It hasn't moved since July. By the time I got here I was sweating because I still had my winter jacket and my sweater on. The sun was blazing.

Made it to the cemetery. There was a washroom there so I shed my jacket and sweater, tying them around my waist, and stepped into the cool of the forest.

W. J. “Mull” Mulvhill is one of the first graves you see. He is buried close to the railway tracks for good reason. Shortly after the track from Skagway to Whitehorse was completed he became the dispatcher in Skagway. He soon got promoted to Chief Dispatcher which allowed him to move into a pretty fancy house on 7th and Alaska where he installed a dispatcher telegraph so he could keep track of things even when he was home. A front runner in the “work from home” trend.
As an aside, Stephen was a dispatcher in Calgary when I met him.

There are several Unknowns buried in the cemetery but this one comes with a story. A man entered The Bank of Commerce in Skagway around 3:00 pm September 15th 1902 carrying several sticks of dynamite and a gun under his coat. He asked the teller for all her money. She panicked and ran to the back of the bank. He started to pull his gun out when it discharged and set off his dynamite, blowing him to bits. They never did figure out who he was.

Frank H. Reid was an American soldier, teacher, city engineer, vigilante, and one of the combatants in the shootout on Juneau Wharf that ended the life of American outlaw Jefferson "Soapy" Smith, as well as Reid's own life.
Reid was also credited with the layout of the streets in Skagway.

I found this rock between the cemetery and the waterfall. On the back it says “keep or rehide. Post on fb.

It was definitely worth the walk to see this waterfall and wander around the cemetery, it was beautiful, cool, and interesting.

I took a photo of me before I started the walk back.

This is the recent rockslide that has stopped the trains.

As I walked past a maintenance shed I was looking at these two. They waved at me so I walked in and asked if they knew how to get a shuttle bus. I knew I could walk back but if I could get a shuttle I'd be happy. They told me that you had to call it and offered to call for me. The phone call sounded like this... Hi, Bob here at the maintenance shed, I have a lady here who needs a ride. I offered to walk to the closest stop but the driver said he'd come and get me and he did. Bob and his partner in crime offered me a bottle of water while I waited. When I asked if they were maintenance for the train Bob said, "We are maintenance for everything... (dramatic pause here) except the trains." Before I left I asked if I could take their picture so I could give them credit for rescuing me.

Back at the ship people are hard at work. It turns out whenever the ship pulls in workers swarm out and do what needs to be done.

Not me.

We decided to keep it simple and have dinner in The Garden Cafe. The chicken was tough but the rest was delicious.

As usual we walked out to the back of the ship to have a look at the view. Alaska is incredibly beautiful.

Back in our room Kandi had left a bear. We are still charmed.

Goodbye Skagway.

Alaska: Skagway, part one

I've realized that fog is a constant here in the early mornings. I love fog but it's hard to know how to dress.

We are docked in Skagway and I took this from our balcony before sunrise. Beautiful hey?

The fog starting to lift at the very same spot. It seems like the fog just blows in and out every few minutes. This is the part that makes it hard to decide what to wear off the ship.

This is Suzanna. She watched me drawing and then told me she wanted to draw, had felt pens in her cabin but couldn’t get started. I gave her an assignment, wrote it up for her and gave her two blank postcards. I’m hoping that she sends me a photo.

I’ve started to have breakfast with breakfast dessert. As I look at this photo I think its a heart attacking on a plate. Hey, it’s only seven days.

Out on land. Still some fog.

This fish ladder is built on reclaimed land. So is the cruise ship pier.

We started our time in Skagway walking The Pullen Creek and the railway tracks. Harriet Smith Pulled arrived in Mooreville in 1897 after having left her husband and four children in Washington. She had $7 in her pocket. She  was determined to make a fresh start and be reunited with her children. She got hired by Moore almost immediately to cook for his pier building crew. Her first entrepreneurial venture was apple pie. When not working for Moore she collected cans and beat them into pie pans and began selling apple pie to the many gold hunters in town. She soon was able to start a freight business using the seven horses she brought from her Washington farm. Her next venture was to buy Moore's three story house in Moore's Park and convert it into The Pullen House Hotel. Ever resourcful she started to save memorabilia as the Gold Rush started to wane. She became an influential Skagway citizen and deserves having a creek named after her.

We stopped to use and admire the parks new bathrooms.

And noticed the fog rolling in as we walked across the park towards the creek.

The park has lots of informational signs and we were happy to be able to confirm the types of plants we saw along the way.

I don't actually know what this is and it wasn't on the sign. The wrong one to start with?

Western Hemlock  This grows in the forest near our place and I've had tea made with it. It was also used to dye spruce root baskets and tanning hides red. It's easy to recognize because it has tiny cones.

We didn't see any salmon but this is a view point next to a very nice picnic shelter on the creek.

Snowberry is often used as an ornamental, it was once used as a medicinal as an anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer treatment. It required real knowledge as the berries are toxic. Snowberries were widely used by indigenous people, chewing the leaves to use as a poltice on cuts and rashes, eyewash, and many other things.

The train is not running just now due to a rock slide. We heard that tours on the train are expected to start up again next tourist season. 

Well, who knew? I guess it shouldn't be a surprise as most of the town is in a valley at the oceans edge and we are on the Ring of Fire. Tsunami can start in Japan and make their way all the way across the ocean.

The Shaggy Mane is edible when its picked young but the most interesting thing I know about it is that when it has released its spores it turns black and dissolves itself. It's beautiful no matter what.

Stephen is actually looking for matches in the hope of building a fire. Turned out it was private property. Good thing they hadn’t stashed some matches.

We were just walking around a more residential area when we came across this sign. Free. What is free? No hints but maybe the locals know.

This was the first building William Moore built on his 160 acre claim in 1887. It was an all purpose building; home, office, warehouse, whatever was needed. The Moore family eventually lost most of their claim but Moore himself was convinced that they would be so important that a museum would be made from their next home and in fact, what is left of the homestead is now part of the Klondike Gold Rush Historical Park that was established in 1977.

 Shagagwei was primarily a Tlingit village and hunting ground when Moore arrived in 1887 they started calling the place Harrisburg but no really liked Harris much and renamed the place Mooresville. It was a very small community but Moore had high hopes for the place and made his claim.  Ten years later the population had risen to between 8,000 and 10,000, many of which were "stampeders" expecting to make their fortune from the Gold Rush.  When Skagway incorporated in 1900 a census was taken and it had 3,117. By 1904 Moore's son Ben and his Tlingit wife were living in this 1.5 story house with their three children. It was a marriage that was one of economic advantage for both parties. It ensured that Moore would have a strong relationship with the Tlingit. 

It was a bit surprising to me that a sign like this would be required for the Moore House Museum so I had to look up if Alaska was an open carry state. I'm not sure why I was surprised that it was.

The Moore's had gone to quite a lot of trouble to make this home Victorian in flavour. Tlinget-sai-yet was born to an aristocratic and wealthy Tlingit family. When she became Ben Moore's wife they kept close ties with her family but in town she was called Minnie Elizabeth Moore and lived a primarily EuroAmerican life style. 

I asked the person working in the Moore Museum where to get stamps and mail a letter. She sent me down the alley saying that I could see a few more historical things on my way. This building is in the process of being restored and I believe it was one of Moore's warehouses.

The fog is rolling in again.

And rolling out. There are a few murals in town and this is by far the most beautiful.

This is Molly Walsh. Its a tragic story… two men were interested in her, she married the wrong one. He shot her. Dead. The other never forgot her and unveiled this bust in 1930.

We arrived at the Skagway Museum but before we went in we found this beautiful spiders web. The only way I could get the web to show up was to ask Stephen to provide a black background. My original plan was to cut him out of the photo but this turned out much better. If you're interested the building in the back is the museum.

One of the first things you see when you come into the museum is this beautiful Duck Neck Skin quilt. It was made by Jennie Olsen Ramunssen who had come to Alaska as a missionary who lived in Yakutat. The family learned many survival skills from the Tlingit, including how to preserve the duck neck skin with salt. Jennie and her family moved to Skagway in 1914 and she helped establish the Skagway Museum in 1961.

Back outside the museum we had a close look at the train and took some photos of the many flowers still in bloom. As you can see the sun is back out.

According to this guide you are supposed to shimmy across a Skagway street.

There were a few tours still making their way around Skagway. Many of the stores are closed with signs that say "Closed for the season: Even though there are at least two more cruise ships coming to town it seems many locals traditionally close September 28th.

We walked around the more residential part of town looking at people's yards and gardens then we dropped into the Visitors Center, watched a video and made jokes with the same person who was manning the Moore House Museum. Then I asked her where we could learn more about Tlingit culture. She was sweet and said I could contact the Tlinget Council by phone and they might be able to help. She suggested that there was a sign that talked about Tlingit language but we had already seen it. Then she surprised me by saying that they were supposed to tell the history of the Gold Rush and she didn't really know much about the Tlingit.

This sign is one of the few things in town that are really about the history of the place before 1886. Even when we saw objects that were Tlingit they often didn't't have very good information. Things are changing but slowly.

I needed some small change to get on the shuttle bus so I went to get a snack and break $100 bill. I was surprised when she said sure and pulled out a special pen. It turns out that US bills have a special coating that won't let the pen leave a mark but if it's counterfeit it marks the bill. How cool is that?  Maybe it will come to Canada. At any rate, I got change but couldn't find the shuttle so I decided to walk to the Historic Cemetery. Stephen decided to go back to the ship so I was on my own.

Alaska: Juneau Here we Come

 

I woke up early thanks to turning back the clock an hour. Alaska doesn’t have daylight savings I guess it’s like, what’s the point. I went up to deck 13 and took some photos of the view. It is quite a bit cooler and because we are late we are moving along at a good clip so it’s quite windy on deck. This photo was taken at the Prince of Whale-Hyderabad Census Area on our way to Juneau just before sunrise.

Getting closer: the Hoonah-Argoon Census Area. The sun is up there somewhere.

I brought a few of my felt pens and some postcard sized card and sat in The Garden Cafe and sketched.It was early enough that not many people were there although a few staff stopped to check out what I was up to.This one is based on the first photo in this post.

I sent this one to my brother.

Actually not a penguin. I’m not sure what kind of bird it is but I don’t think it’s long for this world as it has splayed legs. The staff quickly scooped it up.

I met a couple who have lived in Vancouver for 33 years but are originally from Poland. They asked me where I thought we were so I took them to The Bridge Viewing Room to see the maps.

We were supposed to be in Juneau in the morning and our excursion was supposed to start at 10:30 but arrived at 1:30 instead. Norwegian did a good job of rejigging everyone’s excursions. They automatically extend the time you get back on the boat but they can’t adjust the time for the sunset.

Our first view of Juneau.
The area was settled by Tlingit until Joe Juneau, a Canadian prospector, and Richard Harris, from Philadelphia,showed up in 1880 and found gold. The town grew up quickly and was named Rockwell for a short time. Being guided by Chief Kowee Juneau and Harris panhandled 1000 pounds of gold. The town was renamed Harrisburg but people didn’t really like him so within a year they renamed it Juneau. I wonder how George Plitz , who financed both trips to the area, felt about this.

Juneau became the state capital in 1907 and by this time mining had taken over from panhandling. I guess Plitz made out ok.
Chief Kowee, who is credited with exploring much of the area where Juneau now stands as the second largest city by area in the US has a creek on Douglas Island named after him. Small oversight there.

This is Dylyn (pronounced die-lin). He had some good stories. As we drove through town he pointed out the state capital and mentioned that it was the fiftieth most beautiful capital building in the states. When we passed the building where the post office was on the third floor he told us that they found out about a federal rule that said post offices have to be on the first or second floor. Alaskans are a practical people. They renamed the first floor ‘Ground’ and then one and two.
Dylyn pointed out a road and said if you kept going you would come to a sign that said ‘End of the Road’ and if you took it the other direction you would come to a sign that said ‘The Other End of the Road’. Juneau is one of only two state capitals that are not accessible by road to the rest of the state. “There are only three ways to get to Juneau, by air, by plane, and by birth canal.”

On the boat and looking for whales.

Scanning the horizon. While waiting for some whale action I met a young couple who were newlyweds. Last night we had read a notice that said someone’s suitcases had gone missing. It was theirs. They were very upbeat about it. They were making due with what they had and had only bought a couple of things like toothpaste and toothbrushes.

Humpback whales taking a breath at the surface near Admiralty Island. The island is the 7th largest in the US and is mostly old growth forest. There is a Tlingit community called Angoon that has 572 people living on the west coast of the island. The Tlingit fought to have the island included in Alaska Conservation Legislation and continue to steward the land.

 

The highlight of the day.

The last sighting.

Off the boat and on our was to Mendenhall Glacier. We drove past Auke Lake. Auke means Little Lake in Tlingit so it’s now Little Lake Lake. We also passed the Fred Myers. When Fred Myers came to town it lowered those cost of living.

Our first view of the Mendelhall Glacier. She's a beauty.

The glacier was originally known as Aak’wtaaksit (The Glacier Behind Little Lake) by the Tlingit and called Auke Glacier by naturalist John Muir. In 1879 it was renamed to honor Thomas Corbin Mendenhall. Mendenhall who was the first professor hired by Ohio State University and the Superintendent of the US Coast and Geodetic Survey. But my favourite thing about him was that he was an advocate for the US adopting metric. That said it might be time to go back to the Tlingit name.

Mendenhall Lake is a proglacial lake, formed by a damming action by a retreating glacier. We had a ziplock bag with us so we scooped up some glacial silt and melt water to bring home. The silt is incredibly fine.

I was talking to someone on the ship about abstract art and so I took a few shots I might edit. This is a wall inside a tunnel heading into the Mendenhall Visitor’s Centre.

I was chatting with a man who came from the area. He was telling his friend about coming out of the cave in the 1969 photo when it collapsed. You can see the cave in the bottom right corner of the bottom left photo. He said his mom was watching and thought he’d died. He asked me if we were going to Glacier Bay. I said yes but not getting off the ship. He was so enthusiastic about it. He told me that a Glacier Park Ranger will answer any questions I had and he guaranteed we were going to love it.
The photos are documenting the retreat of Mendenhall Glacier. It’s retreated 2.28 km. since 1929.

Back on the pier we meet Patsy Ann who lived in Juneau in the 1930’s. She had a home but was a bit of a gad about town. Despite the fact that she was deaf from birth she could tell when a steamship was coming in and would make her way to meet it.

This is one of a series of sculptures set on the original bollards that were used to moor cruise ships. They are called Aquqileans from the Latin words for eagle and cetacean. They are meant to tie the idea of the sea and the sky to Alaska.

We ate dinner at Chin Chin a full service restaurant with a modern Chinese take.

Potstickers

I think these might be shrimp. I tried the crisp noodles and they were good.

The potions were small so the waiter convinced me to have two. The dishes were a bit sweet, pretty good but not very authentic

Goodbye Juneau..

Alaska: A Day at Sea

In the spirit of trying to try everything that the cruise has to offer I thought I'd get up early and try a lecture. It was held in the lounge and it was about taking creat photos with your iPhone. I didn't expect to learn much but thought there might be something.

There were quite a few people who came and a lot of them were struggling to do the tasks.

Select your best images? I don't think you would be selecting your worst images. Actually, Kevin wanted people to mark the best photo so that you don't waste time editing ones that you won't use. He talked about his "work flow" and I think it makes sense and might apply some of his ideas to my editing.

After the lecture I met up with Stephen for breakfast. There are too many choices. My first suggestion for dealing with the cafeteria is scope out the choices then order something from the action station. I got an omelette. After breakfast Stephen and I were trying to figure out where we were. We were supposed to go up the Inside Passage but a late start and a need to make up time caused a change of plans. We found our way to the Bridge Viewing Room. There was a video map there and a man who was convinced that it was wrong because we could not be on the open ocean. Later we discovered that you could get the map on the TV in our room.

While walking around we came across the library. A quiet space with good books you can take out and read at your leisure or just sit in the library and enjoy the quiet and the view.

Earlier I thought there was a wave generator in the pool but it turned out that it was the boat rocking.You can't see it much but the water was sloshing from side to side.

The patterns the boat makes are really quite beautiful.

We’ve been having trouble finding each other on the ship so we went to the Internet Cafe to ask for help. It turns out that you can get an on board app so you can call and text other people you know who are also on the ship. We only know each other. Unfortunately it doesn’t work very well. The lady with the pink hair is a comedian but the line up was so long she offered tech advice to people.She was able to solve some simple problems for people and that left the line shorter for us.

The man on the right works in The Great Outdoor Cafe. He’s from Zimbabwe. We got talking when he saw me trying to get a photo of a song bird on the ship. He said she came on board in port but soon it would be too cold for her. Eventually we started talking about why Canada didn’t take more immigrants. My new friend Alena knew that Canada took in 300,000 immigrants last year. What he didn’t know, what really shocked him was the fact that Canada’s population is only 38 million people. It turns out that Canada has one of the highest immigration rates per population in the world. I told him that California has more people than Canada and that most people live close to the boarder. He asked if the rest of the country was farms and I told him that a lot of our country is uninhabitable. It was a really interesting conversation for both of us.

We are trying to visit the hot tub each day.

All dressed up and ready to party.

When we bought our tickets for the cruise we were told that our “Beverage Package” only included spirits but it turns out that all alcoholic drinks under $ 15 are included. Prosecco in the Magnum Lounge while listening to Brown Eyed Girl, not a bad way to spend some time.

We didn’t get the name of this group from the Philippines but they were really good.

After Magnums we had dinner at Cagney’s Steakhouse. Stephen exchanged barbs with waiter. It started when Stephen asked him what the asterisk meant on the menu. It means that those foods are high risk. Interpretation: don’t blame us if you choose to to order a blue rare steak.

A high risk food, tuna tartare.

Ceasar Salad, does it have raw eggs? Is this a high risk food? It wasn't marked on the list.

Butternut Squash Soup  I want to point out the soft lighting on the soup thanks to Stephen for the food styling.

My medium rare sirloin steak isn’t anywhere as near high risk as Stephen’s tartare.

Stephen's blue rare T-bone steak is definitely high risk. Think about it... everything he ordered was high risk. Perhaps he'll drop dead tonight.

Wow, a no risk dessert, Raspberry crème brûlée.

Off to the theatre where photos are not allowed.

We saw a show called Rock You Tonight that featured dancing and singing to Queen, Journey, and The Who. A lot of fun.

The ship is only half full. All the inside rooms on our floor seem to be empty.The thing is, it means that there are plenty of staff and lots of room.

Kandi, our house keeper left a penguin in our room. Even though it's kind of corny we were charmed.

I’m back taking photos of the wake of the ship, this time from our balcony.

On Our Way to Alaska (part two)

After lunch we still had some things to do to get settled in but everybody said that Norwegian would keep track of us and the next cruise we take with them will be easier.

After getting settle we decided to walk around. At every turn someone was offering to show us (read sell us) things we could do on this cruise. We got hooked into a “tour” of the spa. It is truly beautiful but I can see that I’m going to get tired of the sale pressure.

Flying the Canadian flag. I wonder how many flags they have in storage.

Kind of an interesting view of The Winds and Waters Will Always Call Us Home by Ocean Hyland (Vancouver Mural Festival 2022).

My granddaughter Maya made this bracelet for me. I don’t think it will last long because we’re getting ready to go to the pool.

The remains of my first Margarita drunk while getting ready for the hot tub.We are not big drinkers but we have a drink package that came with the ticket so I've decided I should do my part. I got a list of things that were included and it was all spirits. So I'm drinking spirits.

I went to the poolside bar to get another drink. While waiting this bar tender made about fifteen pistachio drinks and just gave one to me. It did taste like pistachio liqueur but we had seen a sign earlier at the ice cream bar that said Pistachio Ice Cream, no nuts. How can you have no nuts and call it pistachio? In the cafeteria we saw a sign on one of the desserts that said no sugar added. A bit curious. Possibly a sugar substitute sweetener.

A little later there was a big party on the pool deck. They were introducing Activity Leaders and mentioning things you could do while on board, basically trying to get people in the mood.

We're off!  It's 6:00 pm in this photo, a bit late but we're moving.

We looked back at the port to see another Norwegian ship pulling out. The sunset is so great because there are fires blowing smoke particles into the air. No one can breath but it sure is beautiful.

We pulled past Stanley Park in a matter of minutes. That's The Brockton Point Lighthouse, built in 1914 but there was a lighthouse here before that. Around 1860 Francis Brockton, the engineer on the HMS Plumper, found a vein of coal near Vancouver. The Captain of the ship named the point after Brockton for his discovery because, you know, captains of ships can do that. In 1890 a very basic lighthouse was located on the point because the light from Prospect Point was not visible to outgoing ships. One of the duties of the lighthouse master, William D. Jones, was to fire the "9 o'clock gun that helped mariners set their chronometers. The gun is still set off today but it's done electronically so there is no need for a person. 

We were more than an hour late leaving but we still got a pretty good sunset.Lions Gate Bridge, completed in 1938, looked pretty special today. The history of the bridge is pretty interesting. A ferry took people from one side to the other from 1909 to 1947. In 1927 a plebiscite was held to see if they wanted to build a bridge but it didn't pass. In 1933 another plebiscite was passed and approval was granted with the requirement that local materials and workmen were to be used as much as possible with the provision that "no Asiatic person shall be employed in or upon any part of the undertaking". This attitude was rampant in Vancouver. it was illegal for Asians to buy a home in West Vancouver until the sixties. The bridge cost $5,873,837, a lot of money during the Depression. Originally it was a toll bridge costing twenty five cent for each car or horse and carriage and five cents for pedestrians and bicycles. I wonder how much the ferry cost.

Going under the Lions Gate Bridge was so cool. The sound of the ship bounced back towards us. Unfortunately I had my camera set for photo and missed taking a video. Trust m, it was very, very cool.

Someone standing next to me said this police boat was ‘just like real police.” No, they are real police, at least some of them are. The boats are Port Authority and it's manned by the Canadian Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, Vancouver Fire and Rescue, and The Vancouver Police Marine Unit. 

Things have quieted down on the pool deck.

There are many places on the ship where you can sit and listen to music. This is in The Atrium. People can get a Starbucks coffee at a “Specialty” shop which means you have to pay extra so I could drink a Margarita which for nothing but a latte or real juice costs you.

We stopped here to get organized. It turns out you have a lot of things to take care of on the first day. You need to make sure your key card works. You have to sign up for wifi (we got 180 minutes each). We booked an excursion in Juneau. We decided not to book excursions for the other two stops. Etc. etc. etc.

This photo doesn't really show off The Tzars Palace. It’s one of about five restaurants that are included with your ticket. It’s a pretty room with good service. 

Stephen decided to have nothing but seafood. This is his appetizer, a shrimp cake with Creole Mustard Remoulade and Cucumber Salad.

Herb Crusted Rotisserie Chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli

Shrimp Fettuccini Alfredo

Chocolate Lava Cake, I wasn't sure about the Oreo and Cream Ice Cream but it turned out to be a good match.

Fresh Fruit Plate

Crème Brûlée

At the end of a long and busy day I sat on the balcony and watched the moon.

On Our Way to Alaska (part one)

On a complete whim we've decided to take a cruise to Alaska. We are mostly independent travellers and have only ever been on one other cruise before and someone else booked it but we found an inexpensive seven day cruise and we wanted to dip our toes into the travel game after three years of Covid. So, Alaska here we come.

We took a taxi and the driver told us that there was going to be 70,000 people going either in or out of the port today. I’m not sure how he knew this or if he just made it up but it was very busy.
We dropped our bags, and in my usual way of looking for interesting photos, I asked our baggage handlers if I could take their picture. Just then a lady said “why don’t I take your photo.” We all laughed and I said thank you to the baggage handlers. The one on the right said, “No, thank you.” He seemed really pleased. A good start to our day.

This was the first of the lines we had to wait in. It’s a bit like a Disney lineup, you snake back and forth across a huge space. They just kept getting longer and longer.

This nice lady checked us in with Norwegian. Gave us our key cards and then stopped to ask us about Canadian Thanksgiving and why are pumpkins important. I eventually said it was harvest time so there were always lots of pumpkins around. I wonder how many people she had asked.

We have joined the people who take selfies. Stephen has longer arms so he usually does the actual taking of the photos.He's getting pretty good at it.

We thought we were finished with lines and were about to get on the ship. No, more lineups were in store.

Inside the building the security team was arriving. Clearly this security guard was wondered why I was taking a photo of the security team.

You would think that this sign should have been at the beginning of the process. By the time we got here we were at number three.

Our bags are somewhere down there. My bag is olive green with no strap… do you see it? Neither do I. Let's hope there are more bags to come.

Finally we are on the ramp in what is the last lineup and almost on the ship. Lots of people working hard to get the ship on its way.

We found our room and our bags were waiting for us. The room is very pretty and it has a balcony.

We went to the main cafeteria called The Garden Cafe to get our food but ate at The Great Outdoors at the back of the ship. There are a lot of options from basic American food like burgers and fries, vegan, gluten free, and a fair amount of International choices. I took very small bits of lots of things just to try them. The mac and cheese was a little bland but I couldn't resist it.

Stephen made healthier choices.

Ok, I did try the salad.

And then I had dessert. 

The Garden Cafe is really comfortable and the art work is nice but the weather is so good today that we decided to eat out doors and enjoy a new view of Vancouver's harbour.

While we ate we noticed that the tugboats that will lead us out of the harbour have arrived.

A sea gull came to visit. He’s standing on top of the canvas roof for the outdoor cafe watching to see if we drop anything. I think he's a regular customer.

The view from the deck is pretty interesting. This is The Drop (2009) by the art group Inges Idee, a group of four artist from Berlin. It's part of Vancoouver's Mandated  Public Art Program. It represents Vancouver's relationship to rain and water. I learned that this plaza is called Bon Voyage Plaza. Who knew? It's hard to take a photo of this piece because it's so big, 65 feet tall.

Lunch, Murals, and a Run In On the Golf Course 10/04/21

Yesterday we had brunch with my brother Hugh and his wife. The food was great and we got to meet his granddaughter for the first time. This Covid thing, you know.

She was a little unsure of me but she really seemed to like Stephen.

We started the day having coffee at the Vendome at 940 2nd Ave with my brother Steve.

This sculpture has no sign but it is actually by my friend Raymond Flatekval. It was the last piece he did in his senior year at ACAD.

This mural is in the process of being removed. I'm so glad I was able to see it before it goes. There are new owners and it will be an Indian Restaurant soon. The owner told me that the mural will be replaced so I'll have to have a look the next time I am in Calgary. 124 10 St. NW

This plaza is on Kensingtom. 

This mural raised some hackles in Calgary. Someone complained that public money was spent on it but it turns out that no public money was spent on it. It's on private property and was donated. At least that what I heard.

Surreal Fish and Pigeons by Katie Green 10 Ave. & 12 St. S.W.

Katie Green is an artist from Calgary and I met her when I was last in Calgary. I love Katie Green's work. 

1016 9th Ave. SW Calgary

Bees Together by Natalie Nehlawi 10 Ave. & 12 St. S.W.

The artist says that the swarm of bees symbolizes strength and fight.

The Haretoise by Alphalfa (Nicolas Sanchez) 

The artist says this is an invitation to find your own speed, to walk at your own pace and rhythm.

These two cops rode past me and noticed the same woman I did. They gently approached her and made sure she was ok. On my way back they were still talking to her and one of them started to talk to me about the murals, he even told me about his favourite mural.

Wolf by Gust of Wind Studio 802 11 Ave SW

Green and Pink Faces by   731 — 10th Avenue SW, Calgary

1010 6th St. SW

Geese by Fats 2019 708 11 Ave SW

Is it weird that I recognize a Noloxone kit?

Stephen is taking organizing take out for dinner tomorrow for my brother's birthday pretty seriously. We looked around Chinatown but he was still not satisfied so we kept looking.

Faces of Calgary

See what I mean about how beautiful magpies are?

We got lost driving around and ended up at a golf course. We walked along the path but apparently that is not ok. A golfer started to yell at us. We said that we didn't know the rule and started to leave. He yelled at us all the way up the hill. Oh well. The view was incredible.

Calgary and The Bow River 10/02/2021

Surprisingly good weather for the beginning of October.

Magpies. I must be in Calgary. There was no magpies in Calgary when I lived there but they are everywhere now. My friend says they’re bullies. Maybe, but they are beautiful.

The trees are still hanging on to most of their leaves and have a beautiful golden glow. When I was a kid we called these poplar but I honestly can’t tell the difference between poplars and aspens.

Walking on these leaves they crackled and threw up a smell that took me back to my childhood. Calgary is in a semi-arid dessert and this fall is drier than most.

The early light on the Bow River turned the water golden.

The real reason for my travelling to Alberta… I wanted to see my brothers. We didn’t talk about anything important but just having a coffee together was comforting.

We had brunch at Sunterra. I went in to order our food with my mask on of course. The girl behind the counter asked to see my Vaccine Passport. I said we were eating out on the deck and she literally stepped back and I could see her heart rate speed up. I told her not to worry I had my passport with me and she relaxed. No matter where you stand on the passports please don't take it out on staff, they didn't make the rules.

Weird clouds.

Contemplating on the Bow River.

We walked on the river at Edworthy Park. Thomas Edworthy bought the land in 1883 and proceeded to take advantage of the sandstone. A lot of the old buildings that I love here were built with Edworthy sandstone.  Our granddaughter asked us to bring back a rock so we spent some time deciding which rock to take home.

A walk along Memorial Drive. A somewhat changed view of downtown.

Although this sign appears to be affiliated with the City of Calgary it's not as the City of Calgary website clearly states.

I'm not sure if I can agree.

This is the west tip of Prince’s Island Park.

After WWI a proposal was made to plant populus wobbstili or poplar trees for each fallen soldier along Sunnyside Ave (now Memorial Drive). The first tree was planted in 1922 with an eventually 3,278 trees were planted by 1928.There was quite an uproar when the trees started to die and need to be removed for safety reasons. Some people were upset and some were glad because these trees produce a lot of cotton in the fall and many people are allergic to it.  In 2001 the city began cloning the trees so that the heritage of the trees could be carried on. The replacing of trees that were at the end of their lifecycle began in 2005.

A new (2013) Memorial on Memorial Drive near Poppy Plaza. The plan for the Memorial Drive corridor was to explore new as well as traditional ways to memorialize and the area is called a "landscape of memory."

Poppy Plaza is being used by a lot of people today. People reading, walking, skateboarding and just enjoying the river. The plaza is an inviting space that combines wood walkways, a small grove of Aspen, steel that weathers to a rich brown, and lighting. The stairs invite you right down to the banks of the river.

"Quotes from world leaders and citizens in Canada and around the world are water jet cut into the steel and are backlit, portraying diverse voices and perspectives relating to honour, hope and sacrifices during war time."

Lots of new murals. This one is at the corner of Memorial Drive and 10th Street.

The Memorial Drive greenway has been planted with native plantings. I'm not very good at identifying trees but this might be a Douglas Fir which is interesting because Calgary is the furthest east that the Douglas Fir is found.

containR is a performance space and art park made from refitted shipping containers found at the corner of 2nd Ave. and 9th St. NW.

We finished our day with dinner at our friends place.

Kamloops to Calgary 10/01/2021

Drove from Kamloops to Calgary. The No. 1 was closed from Golden to Banff so we were forced to detour down the 95 to Radium and then back up to Banff. I hadn’t driven that road in ages and was glad we got to see it.

The view of the river is still beautiful this morning.

We cut through downtown Kamloops and what should I see but another mural... one that is really incredible. Poor Stephen, I just had to stop. He's a very patient man.

This mural is a 2019 one by Zac Abney. No name but Abney says he wanted it to express what could be communicated with a glance or a look. 

Just past Shuswap Lake Provincial Park on Hyw. 1.

We stopped in Revelstoke at the Modern Bakeshop and Cafe. We don't usually make many stops when we are driving to Calgary but we have stopped here before. The food is good and the service is good too.

Carbon Key by Kate Tupper.
This is part of Revelstoke’s Sculpture Walk. It turns out that this piece will only be in Revelstoke for one year.

Canadian Pacific by Kelly Hutchinson
This is part of Art Alleries. Transforming alleys into Galleries.

Honestly, Stephen encouraged me to stop and take photos.

Canadian Pacific by Kelly Hutcheson

The inspiration behind this large-scale piece stems from Revelstoke’s deep connections to the railway. This large-scale Art Alleries commission challenged Hutcheson, known locally for her smaller intricate pieces of bears and mountainscapes, to create something on a much larger scale built to withstand the elements.

Sophie's Garden by Rob Buchanan

First Snow by Rob Buchanan

“Sustainability was a huge factor in building and operating the Alleries. The large gilded frames are made from recycled water bottles and sawdust, the light is generated by solar panels, all of the art is made entirely with retired skis and snowboards, and even the powder-coated aluminium panels can be recycled at the end of their life, decades from now.”

Winter Plaza by Rob Buchanan

Marilyn Monroe’s Begbie Smile By Rob Buchanan

This is part of a series called Assemblages. 

Mona Skisa by Rob Buchanan

"An integral part of Revelstoke’s Art Alleries, the Monaskisa is 8ft tall, 4ft wide and constructed from approximately 126 pieces of old skis and snowboards previously destined for the landfill. As skis are built specifically for the rigors of outdoor use, Rob Buchanan, the artist behind the installations, knew they would be the perfect medium for outdoor art."

Girl with the Ptex Earring by Rob Buchanan

"Assemblage is an artistic form or medium usually created on a defined substrate that consists of three-dimensional elements projecting out from or mounted to the substrate. In Revelstoke, some of our most abundant objects for recycling into assemblage art are old retired skis and snowboards. They are manufactured for use in very harsh environments (snow, water, sunlight, temperature extremes) which make them very durable for long-term outdoor public art."

A Simple Joy by Kyle Thornley

I love, love, love this piece. It may be because I've spent the summer with my granddaughter Kenzie learning how to blow a dandelion with such joy.

A Simple Joy by Kyle Thornley detail 

I Hugged a Bear in Revelstoke by Turbo Bambi

Not my favourite.

Snowpack Slayers by Jess Leakey, Jamie Tilson, and Kyle Reynolds.

‘A Friend of a Friend’ started out as photographer Bruno Long’s simple human desire for deeper community connection. Through the thread of friendship, the project wound its way through the community of Revelstoke, BC, introducing Bruno to people he would never otherwise have met, and culminating in a large-scale Art Alleries portrait series."

Those are my feet and this is my favourite photo of this whole trip. 

We have driven by Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk in Revelstoke National Park many, many times and never stopped but we turned off the highway this time. It was beautiful.

The Illecillewaet River

Unfortunately the bridge was closed so we will have to stop at The Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk again someday. We couldn't get any closer to the stream or the little waterfall.

The mountains were so clear and beautiful I asked Stephen to take some photos through the window of the car.

Years ago I insulted my cousin by asking what mountains when he took me to see the Laurentian’s. This is what I thought all mountains looked like.

I think this might be the back side of Castle Mountain.

I'm terrible with names of mountains, even ones I've seen a hundred times, but my fried says this is Rundle.