Skagway - my favorite little town

Although it was another cloudy day, it wasn't raining!!! Here we had docked and were waiting to begin our exploration of Skagway and take the White Pass and Yukon Railway. We had a long walk into town but it was pleasantly chilly, not freezing and not RAINING!

Skagway was like right out of Gunsmoke. Wooden sidewalks and everything. Even the train ran through town. There was something special about that little town that just touched my heart. I don't know what it was, I just loved it. And of course, that's the place where we had the least amount of time before we boarded the train. AAAGGGHHH!!  Guess I have to go back.

It doesn't look like I'm freezing here but I am. Freezing but happy. It got cold after such a nice morning. That's three layers I'm wearing. It's a wonder I could even put my arms by my side. I felt like the little kid in The Christmas Story movie who can barely move, he's so bundled up.

So we boarded this great train that took us nearly up to the Yukon. The ride was phenomenal. Our ship is docked somewhere in that body of water. We kind of followed the route the gold miners used to get up in the mountains. See, Skagway was where the Klondike Gold Rush started. Don't ask me how those guys got up those mountains and over the rivers with MULES. I would have fallen off a mountain and died for sure. 

Rain, dogs and whales - Juneau!

As we approached Juneau that morning, the clouds were very low and I thought "Oh no. More rain."  But even the clouds in the mountains were lovely.

As you can see from the deck and the railing of our ship, it WAS raining. And cold.

But we were going dog "sledding" no matter what, so we bundled up, put on the water resistant shoes and slogged through the mud with the best dogs! I think there were 12 dogs in the team. When they saw their musher approach with us, the dogs started barking like crazy. They were ready to RUN! These are Iditarod dogs and used to 50 below zero when they run, so this 50 above zero weather was like running in Miami for them. We stopped a few times so they could rest and drink. The ride was about two miles or so. We were in kind of a golf cart. Those dogs can PULL. We went fast. It was great. In the rain.

This is Kara and me in the dog sled cart during a rest stop for the dogs. The musher took our cameras and took pictures for everyone.

We were allowed to pet the dogs but only the ones the musher said we could. He knows his dogs. This is Olive Oyl and me.

Then we had two really great sessions with mushers, explaining how the dogs are cared for and how they train for races. This picture is of me with a puppy. Part of the training is for the puppies to be handled by strangers so they get used to people. Sweet baby dogs.  I think this was my favorite excursion.

We also went on a whale watch! They put us on a catamaran that was loaded with binoculars for our use. They also provided a FEAST, which included roast beef, reindeer sausage (?!), salmon mousse, shrimp cocktail, cheese and crackers, fruit, dessert - all sorts of yummy things to eat as we headed out to the sea. 

We saw a whole bunch of whales. We could see and hear them exhaling through their blow holes. These are two at once!

We could also hear their bodies slap the water. This is the tale of a humpback whale.

This is our darling young bus driver who took us from the ship to the catamaran and back. She looks so Alaskan but is from El Paso, Texas!

Cool, damp Sitka

Sitka was the original capital of Alaska. It's very small and has a distinct Russian atmosphere. We toured St. Michael's Russian Orthodox Church and then saw a show of Russian dancing. Very cool. The main industries in this city are health and education, fishing and then tourism. It used to be a favorite fishing ground for the Tlingit (pronounced klink-it) Indians. The Tlingits are still there and all around southeast Alaska.

The ship was approaching the port of Sitka. It proved to be a drizzly day.

Can you imagine living on an island like this??? It's pretty, but kind of isolated.

And there is me looking like a real tourist, dorky but happy. All bundled up in three layers.

We went to the Raptor Center which is really a hospital for raptors, or birds of prey. I cried here too, but that's just me.

The next day we went to Juneau, the capital of Alaska.........

Ready for some pictures of Alaska?

Since I've been home for two weeks now, I thought I had better start posting some of my 316 photos! No, no, I will only post the best ones or at least some that will make you laugh.

I went on this trip with a doula friend, Kara. We flew into Anchorage, spent the night there and then took a shuttle to Whittier, were we would board our ship, the Carnival Spirit.

This is the Turnagain Arm, the first beauty we experienced on our way from Anchorage to Whittier. It's at sea level and these mountains are about 5,000 feet. This was the epicenter of the earthquake that hit Anchorage on Good Friday, 1964. It registered a 9.2 and caused the land I was taking this picture from to sink nine feet.

Here I am on our first night on the ship. It was 10:15PM. See how light it still is out?

This was our first morning. I woke up at 5:30, ran up to an upper deck to see what was out there and saw this breathtaking vision. We were in the College Fjord, surrounded by mountains, glaciers (which are blue) and icebergs. It was so lovely I cried.

This is one of the glaciers. I forget the name of it. Maybe the Bryn Mawr? All the glaciers in this fjord are named after colleges.

Okay so this is one of those photos that will make you laugh. You have probably NEVER seen me without my glasses and with mud on my face on a ship in Alaska with BRACES so here you are. I am SO glad this blog is now private!  Actually, we were taking a class at the ship's spa about facials. All the ladies in the class were slapping stuff on their faces. It was hilarious.

So that was our first day or so. Next stop, Sitka!

Have you or have you not?

"200 Have and Have nots" This is an invitation to all of you to do your own list - it's clean!

BOLD means I have:

1. Touched an iceberg 2. Slept under the stars 3. Been a part of a hockey fight 4. Changed a baby's diaper  5. Watched a meteor shower  6. Given more than you can afford to charity  7. Swam with wild dolphins  8. Climbed a mountain  9. Held a tarantula  10. Said "I love you" and meant it 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea  14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise  15. Seen the Northern Lights 16. Gone to a huge sports game 17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables  19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope 20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Bet on a winning horse 23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Taken an ice cold bath 28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Ridden a roller coaster 31. Hit a home run 32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking  33. Adopted an accent for fun  34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment 36. Loved your job 90% of the time 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Watched wild whales 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach 41. Gone sky diving 42. Visited Ireland 43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant  44. Visited India 45. Bench-pressed your own weight 46. Milked a cow 47. Alphabetized your personal files 48. Ever worn a superhero costume 49. Sung karaoke 50. Lounged around in bed all day 51. Gone scuba diving 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Done something you should regret, but don't 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Been in a movie 60. Gone without food for 3 days 61. Made cookies from scratch 62. Won first prize in a costume contest 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Been in a combat zone 65. Spoken more than one language fluently 66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone 67. Bounced a check(Isn't that what college is for :-) ) 68. Read - and understood - your credit report 69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy 70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did 71. Called or written your Congress person 72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over 73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge 74. Helped an animal give birth 75. Been fired or laid off from a job 76. Won money 77. Broken a bone 78. Ridden a motorcycle 79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph 80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon 81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing 82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days 83. Eaten sushi 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read The Bible cover to cover 86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about 87. Gotten someone fired for their actions 88. Gone back to school 89. Changed your name 90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands 91. Eaten fried green tomatoes 92. Read The Iliad 93. Taught yourself an art from scratch 94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt 96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language 97. Been elected to public office 98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream 99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care 100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you 101. Had a booth at a street fair 102. Dyed your hair 103. Been a DJ 104. Rocked a baby to sleep 105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four 106. Raked a carpet 107. Brought out the best in people 108. Brought out the worst in people  109. Worn a mood ring 110. Ridden a horse 111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap 112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe 113. Buried a child 114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play 115. Been inside the pyramids 116. Shot a basketball into a basket 117. Danced at a disco 118. Played in a band 119. Shot a bird 120. Gone to an arboretum 121. Tutored someone 122. Ridden a train 123. Brought an old fad back into style 124. Eaten caviar 125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need 126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant 127. Published a book 128. Pieced a quilt 129. Lived in an historic place 130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage 131. Asked for a raise 132. Made a hole-in-one (putt putt) 133. Gone deep sea fishing 134. Gone roller skating 135. Run a marathon 136. Learned to surf 137. Invented something 138. Flown first class 139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite 140. Flown in a helicopter 141. Visited Africa 142. Sang a solo 143. Gone spelunking 144. Learned how to take a compliment 145. Written a love-story 146. Seen Michelangelo’s David 147. Had your portrait painted 148. Written a fan letter149. Spent the night in something haunted 150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane 151. Ran away 152. Learned to juggle 153. Been a boss 154. Sat on a jury 155. Lied about your weight 156. Gone on a diet 157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget 158. Written a poem 159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox 160. Gotten food poisoning 161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission 162. Hiked the Grand Canyon 163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks 164. Gone to the opera 165. Gotten a letter from someone famous 166. Worn knickers 167. Ridden in a limousine 168. Attended the Olympics 169. Can hula or waltz 170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books 171. Been stuck in an elevator 172. Had a revelatory dream 173. Thought you might crash in an airplane 174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert 175. Saved someone’s life 176. Eaten raw whale 177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint 178. Laughed till your side hurt 179. Straddled the equator 180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing 181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival 182. Sent a message in a bottle 183. Spent the night in a hostel 184. Been a cashier 185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 186. Joined a union 187. Donated blood or plasma 188. Built a campfire 189. Kept a blog 190. Had hives 191. Worn custom made shoes or boots 192. Made a PowerPoint presentation 193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course 194. Served at a soup kitchen 195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube 196. Know CPR 197. Ridden in or owned a convertible 198. Found a long lost friend 199. Helped solve a crime 200. Responded to a NJP newsletter (I have no idea what this means!)

Here we are together, together, toGETHer, oh here we a.....

I've been tagged by Katrina! So here ya go. All about husbands:

1. What is your husband's name?  Laurence Edward Locke

2. How long have you guys been together?  Since October 1980 so almost 28 years. Man.

3. How long did you date?  Well, we were engaged after 10 weeks and married after one year. See we were old when we met.  I was 27 and Larry was 34 so we didn't have time to waste.

4. Who eats more?  Larry eats a lot. More than me.

5. Who said "I love you" first?  I can't remember!  That's bad.

6. Who is taller?  Larry, by 10 inches. I'm a midget. 4'11"

7. Who sings better?  Me. Poor Larry doesn't know if he is a tenor or a bass. He's a bass.

8. Who is smarter?  Larry generally, as far as book smarts. He knows math and science. But I'm pretty smart myself. I know geography and lots of cool stuff he has no idea about.

9. Who does the laundry?  Me. Larry will haul the clothes basket downstairs though.

10. Who does the dishes? We really share that chore.

11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?  Me. I sleep on my right side so it makes me sad that my back is usually to my husband.

12. Who pays the bills?  THAT chore we do together too. We sit together but I actually write the checks.

13. Who mows the lawn?  Larry, thankfully.

14. Who cooks dinner? Mostly me. But Lare can fend for himself very well.

15. Who is more stubborn?  Tough question. I think Larry. But I get my way more often.

16. Who kissed who first?  I kissed Larry first. Very chaste kiss. Then he kissed ME three times on my cheek right in a row. On the first date!

17. Who asked who out first?  Well it was a blind date. But HE called me.

18. Who proposed?  I did. I knew we would be getting married within minutes of meeting him, so I waited around for him to catch up. But we'd STILL be single if I hadn't said one day, "Are we getting married or what?" I couldn't wait around any longer. I was getting older by the minute.

19. Who is more sensitive? Another tough one. In many ways I am, but Lare can be pretty sensitive himself. But I think I win this one.

20. Who has more friends? I think I do. But he is friendlier. So go figure.

21. Who has more siblings?  We're tied. No siblings. We are both "onlys."

22. Who wears the pants in the family?  Since I haven't caught Larry wearing a skirt, I guess he does! No really, we pretty much defer to each other. We both want the other to be happy.

So now I tag Alison and Pam and anyone else who wants to join in the fun!

 

Details, details

Okay, these are the email addresses I have so far, of those I know who read the blog -

 Jo-Ann, Corinne, Dick, Mary G, Michelle H., KayLee, Summer, Lisa J., Joy, Adriana, Tammy, Susan M, Jennifer M, Laura M, Gail, Pam W, Carol.

My goal date to go private is August 1.

Going private

Well, I'm taking the plunge and going private. Please let me know if you would like to continue viewing the blog and I will add you! I think I need your email address.

Thanks dear friends....

Home today from ALASKA!

Could any of you tell from my last post where I have been? Yep, I went on an Alaskan cruise and had an absolute blast!!!! Glaciers, bears, whales, bald eagles, icebergs, sled dogs, rivers, rapids.......and, oh yes. Clouds!

I'm going through the pictures now to edit out the bad ones, but here is just a sample of what we saw. This is just outside of Whittier, on our way to the ship. Much more later!!

NORTH to the Future!

Alaska (AK)

Alaska is the largest State, with 570,374 sq. miles of land. Alaska's largest cities include Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Sitka, and Soldotna. Alaska does not share a border with other States.

Did you know that ...

The Alaska State Bird is the Willow Ptarmigan.
The Alaska State Flower is the Forget Me Not (myosotis alpestris).
The Alaska State Tree is the Sitka spruce (picea sitchensis).

You may also be interested to know that ...
The capital city of Alaska is Juneau.
Alaska became a State on January 3, 1959 (49th).
Alaska's motto is "North To The Future".
Alaska's nickname is "Last Frontier, Great Land, Land of the Midnight Sun".
Alaska's State song is "Alaska's Flag".

And the rockets red glare, and blue and white...

We have our own fireworks display in our neighborhood! It's a family down the street and they do some really good ones. Whether it's legal or not, we don't know.......!

Anyway, Larry and our young friend Marissa from next door and I were sitting inside the porch last night (to keep the mosquitos at bay,) to watch the show. It's really hard to capture fireworks on camera! They look much better in person. But if you click on the picture to make it bigger they look pretty good, through the screen and all! 

Hope you all had a happy Independence Day!

Summer days and blessings

A lovely summer morning on Janes Road. Larry is sitting in the front yard reading the paper and listening to the birds sing. The grass is really wet with dew. It makes me feel so blessed. We aren't worried about the police coming by to interrogate us about our activities or lock us up. We can fly the American flag if we want to. There aren't bombs dropping from the sky. There aren't soldiers marching through our neighborhood with machine guns. We can go to church without fear. 

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Cortisone and a sore shoulder

I am very sad. The cortisone shot in my shoulder last week didn't work. The doctor said there was a 20% chance that it wouldn't. I was so confident because I had one in my hip about 10 years ago and it worked almost immediately. This one - nothing. So I don't know what we'll do. Probably physical therapy. He claims it's tendonitis in the rotator cuff. Oh well. 

Look at this beautiful cloud!

I had been watching this cloud billow up last night in the south, thinking it looked like it might be a storm brewing. It got  bigger and bigger and the edges got really sharp and the colors were very cool. It turned out to be a whopper of a storm just south of us, probably by the NYS Thruway. You can see the rain coming down out of it - kind of at the bottom left.  We get the prettiest skies around here. Check out the fourth picture down - there is a goose flying by!

Music for a desert island

Couldn't live without:

Handel's MESSIAH

Neil Diamond's HOT AUGUST NIGHT

The Beatles ABBEY ROAD

THEN I would add everything else by Neil Diamond and The Beatles and Coldplay.

THEN give me my other favorite CD's: 

U2 "Rattle and Hum" and "Joshua Tree"

Sting "Fields of Gold, The Best of Sting"

Bob Seger "Nine Tonight"

The Band "The Last Waltz"

THEN add some other favorite artists like Il Divo, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, John Denver, Josh Groban, oh so many more! 

Some of my all time favorite songs are, "Play Me" by Neil Diamond, "Unchained Melody" by Il Divo, "Nessun Dorma" from the opera Turandot, "Bad" by U2, (the video version) and "Silver Spring" by Stevie Nicks live.

Hurray for MUSIC!!!!!!

In honor of my dad

LOVE this picture of my father as a kid. He was very cute! He died in 1995 and I miss him every day of my life...

Quite a sky

Saturday brought some rain to western New York. Saturday evening after the rain had stopped, the neighborhood turned yellow. It was pretty. Then Larry said to grab the camera. I opened the front door and this is what I found in the sky.

Still grinning

I can't begin to explain how wonderful a weekend I had in New York with my cousins. It was one of those great times in life that stay with you forever. They are usually few and far between so savoring those moments is essential.

Had to take off the orange moon photo. I couldn't enlarge it.

Family and baseball, could it get any better than that?

Well, I'm back from my weekend in New York City with my cousins. We had such a great time visiting with each other and going to the Yankee game. And what a game!!!! We had incredible seats, the game was wild and the Yankees won! Between the Royals and the Yankees, there were 31 hits. And no errors.

Johnny Damon went 6 for 6, which is crazy unheard of. It was so fun when in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and Damon came up, nobody would dream he would go 6 for 6, but he did and the place went absolutely nuts. I hadn't had that much fun in I don't know how long. It was just so unbelievably cool!!!

Right before he hit the winning single...

There was this guy sitting in front of us who was yelling at the players and taunting them but he was so funny! When we were behind in the game he was yelling in his slow New York drawl, "I can't buh-leeeve we're losing to the Kansas City Royyyyy-als."  And, "Hey, this guy is batting one fifty fourrrrrr." Loved it!!!

Check this out. We had takeout from this Jewish deli which was to die for. We all had beef brisket sandwiches with gravy and cole slaw. Delish! What a yummy way to have lunch - sitting in Yankee Stadium with my cousins eating a sammich from a NY deli. Man.My cousin Joe in his Yankee Babe Ruth shirt

Joe, his brothers, my other cousins and I all grew up together, pretty much within yards of each other. We don't see enough of each other so this was such a tremendous treat. So thanks Joe and Joanne for the hospitality and the game. I had a blast!

My romantic husband

So Larry leaves to get a blood test this morning in preparation for his physical next week. He comes home with these gorgeous flowers that knocked my socks off. What a guy. I just love this man. He drives me absolutely out of my mind, but then he comes up with something like this and I love him all over again. After over 27 years together, he is even sweeter than he was in the beginning. On our first date, (a blind date) he showed up at my door with three roses clipped from his garden, plopped in an empty BBQ sauce jar. Is it any wonder that I knew right away we would get married? I knew within minutes. Less than a year later we were married. 

Ah, to dream

I just finished reading this book by Elizabeth Berg called "The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted." It's a collection of short stories that are funny, tender, sad, heartwarming, maddening and thought-provoking all at the same time. All about women. ANYway, I thought it would be entertaining to list all the things I would eat for one day, without regard for fat, fiber
cholesterol, triglycerides, calories, none of that.

Here is my list:

For breakfast I would start out with bacon and two biscuits smothered with sausage gravy. And a huge glass of orange juice. Then I would go get croissants, a french cruller and donuts stuffed with lemon cream and custard. 

For lunch I would have a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate malted. Then a hot fudge sundae with chocolate ice cream. I would also go buy a box of Turtles.

Dinner would be easy. Pizza and wings! With lots of blue cheese dressing. For dessert? A banana split.

I find this interesting because I'm not a big fan of ice cream. Nevertheless, that's how I  would end my day, because it sounds so good to me. Oh I forgot. Popcorn with lots of butter for the evening snack.

Then I would be sick for about two days!

What would you eat?