North to Alaska – Comment on our Adventure Here
We will be watching this blog along the way so feel free to leave any comments here and we will see them and respond.
We will be watching this blog along the way so feel free to leave any comments here and we will see them and respond.
I Feel like I’m going to be on this trip to . Can hardly wait . watch the calories ! no alcohol ! go to bed early ! Have fun Ha H A Opal
Oh Opal, what fun would it be if we did not over indulge a bit? The big thing is to make sure you don’t eat so much that you can’t fit into your dress cloths on formal nights. Judy arrived earlier and she and Roseanna just went out for some dinner. I am still trying to figure out what to pack. This is a hard trip to pack for. We will keep the website updated and hopefully blog back to everyone along the way, so stay in touch.
You’d better take a gazillion pictures. We want to see it all. Especially the cold stuff. We’ll crank up the a/c and pretend we’re there with you.
Wow, you always settle right into those first class seats!!! Enjoy!!! It sounds like you made it there in good time. It’s going to be fun to “go on this trip with you”…..Love you both….Mom
Well, we have a hard decison. Do we eat Chinese or Steak tonight? We are thinking Gotham Steakhouse here in Vancouver. People see to talk a lot about it. Then again, Shanghai Garden sounds good too.
My Motorola Q device is working here although it keeps saying International. That probably means I am paying a dollar a word here or something. Actual internet here at the hotel is a bit more challenging. My SPrint aircard doesnt work internationally I guess, and the hotel doesnt have wireless. Its ethernet cable, and doesnt work either. One would expect more of a Fairmont. Anyway, I resorted to dialup to update the site. Wow, its been a while since I had to deal with dialup.
More photos on the Alaska page later tonight.
Love to all.
I can almost feel the cool northern air from here. Oh, no, that would be the rain cloud that moved in from across the lake. Like we needed more rain.
Roseanna, I received the special little package you sent me today! I love them! So sweet of you to think of me in the middle of the rush of things getting ready for your trip! The little dollies are wonderful! There they sit looking at me while sitting on the lap of Gramma Smith’s dolly. Looking so pretty. Except the poor naked baby, I will have to find her some clothes!!!
Looks like you both are having fun already and the trip has barely begun! Wish we were there too! Some day when we are retarded, oops I mean retired we will go North to Alaska as well!!!
Love you, Keep having TONS of fun!
Anna
Well I wrote one message earlier & i don’t know where it went to .Must be floating out their someplace .Anyway i was chewing out Roseanna for drinking & will work on her when she gets back to So Dak. That ought to put dread in her .Have fun anyway even if Mom is watching .I mentioned on my other message that the temp.has dropped from 104 to 74 & probally can go outside tomorrow .What a relief .Love Mom
Opal, its not just drinking. She is smoking and flirting too. I’m trying to keep her under control but you know how hard it is.
But Mommie, the waiter at the Gotham where we ate great steaks was very cute & I believe Native American. Wheeee. A nice quiet evening in a very cosmopolitan metroplex of 4.5 million folks. The air is sweet and cool and NO MOSQUITOS. All the little downtown shops remind me of Paris and pretty flowers everywhere. Apparently they have had a LOT of rain here as well so we really enjoyed the sunny day. Mom, that isn’t really me drinking the Mimosa and being bad. Besides, Chris made me do it.
What the heck is going on up there in Canada. You left me with Aunt Judy, Lieu & that little fluffy dog Patches. You did not get my permission to go carousing all over Canada & Alaska. I am outnumbered by women. Rookie
Hey, those two big dogs think that all the toys belong to them. What is this I hear about a waiter? I miss you Mom. The puppy chow is still good but that Patches keeps eating mine. Lieu
My Mom Judy brought me with her to stay with Rookie and that new little ratball, Lieu. I don’t think Aunt Roseanna made the right decision as a cat would have been better. Lieu thinks she is so cute. Just wait until she grows up and no longer has that cute little puppy face. I rule this roost. Patches
I am glad I am over here at my place. Keep all that top dog ego crap on your side of the fence. Love, Beacon
Mom, yes, we settled into the seats just fine on the plane. A nice flight attendant named Phyllis took good care of us. I am looking out the window at a beautiful full moon. Its 10:07pm here, 12:07am your time there in Texas, and the city here is quiet and peaceful even though we are downtown. I don’t hear traffic or trucks or sirens. To put it into perspective, the Vancouver BC metro area is 2.4 million people according to the driver who brough us to the hotel today. We are spending money like drunken sailors, but not on what you might think. With all of these bags and such, we are tipping everyone. Everytime we turn around, someone has their hand out. Please keep the Granny blog updated as you talk to her so I will know how she is doing!
Melody, I got your email, thanks for the nice note. You can follow along on line.
Melinda, keep us up to date on the weather down there at Arrowhead. We performed a little anti-rain dance here for your weekend.
We are having fun with the travel blog, and it really doesn’t take a ton of time either.
We have made it on board and after experiencing this stateroom, let me just say, holy spa tub in a full size bathroom, batman. We did not expect this. We’ve got quite a few pictures to post from our morning in Vancouver which I am going to try to get up later tonight. Also, we still plan to try the videoeo blog too..
The pictures are really great. Also great is that you were there early enough to see some sights. I know the dollar isn’t worth much in Canada, and postage to and from there is really high. After that, the cost of stuff on the ship should look cheap now!!
Okay its all Chris’s fault .I can see how that could happen .You look like your enjoing yourself tooo much but I won’t be jealous .My hallway still looks pretty good .I did get out today for my annual heart check up & they said i was in excellant shape.Just goes to show how much they know ,I’m not going to pay the bill . Enjoyed talking to you on the phone .Don’t embarrass me & steal all the biscuits off the table like you did at Red Lobster .Kids will be Kids . I enjoyed the messages from Judy & the puppies.That must be a circus .Hope she don’t break aleg or arm tripping over them like you would if you were there,not saying your not graceful .Well I’m going out to sit on the patio & pretend it’s a ship with a lot of slot machines . By the way,do they have those ? just wandering .Bye now Love Mom
No bad weather, just lots of heavy clouds and our now ritual afternoon shower. We keep pretending we’re in the tropics with the humidity so high and the passing showers. Hurry and get some snow-covered mountain pictures posted so we can fall asleep dreaming of that cool clean air. Have a nice bottle of wine for us at dinner!
Well internet connection here is very bad so I havent been able to update the site. I will try again tonight but if I cant get it to go then we will just have to wait until we get to a hotspot in Ketchikan on Sunday.
Well, hopefully the internet will clear up, because I don’t want to miss any of the trip. So far, it looks just gorgeous. Saturday is your “day at sea”, with nothing to do but eat, play games, play the slots, drink, enjoy the sights. What a day!!! Every once in awhile, all hell breaks loose in the back yard next door. I thought I might need to go over there with a whip and a chair, but Judy assures me she has everything under control. Beacon wants to go over there and get into it, but I told her she didn’t need to be exposed to all of that. I’m trying to bring her up right. Just kidding, Judy really does have the upper hand!! No rain here so far, and even on Saturday they are moving dirt out back…..
Have a great day and drink a marguirita for me…….
Hey you guys,
Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do , and that isn’t much, and remember what happens on a cruise stays on a cruise. Oh or is that Vegas, I’m confused. Roseanna has promised to bring me back a buck (yound male Indian that is) . Make sure he has long hair, is in good shape and all the other requirements we police have to worry about….. No I’m not picky…LOL.
If I had the time you know I would have come along……
Love Ya,
Jackie
Where’s all the original itinerary stuff you had on the web site? I was counting on that to know where you are even when you can’t post new stuff.
Hi Everyone, we are going to have to reply on the blog for some communication over the next day or so. We are in Ketchcan right now getting ready to pull back out. Internet connectivity on the boat is horrible and ion town wasn’t any better. I can get connection but not sufficient enough to push up photos and certainly not video.
We will be pulling out for Juneau and due to arrive around 8:30am. We will be arriving at the pier, and then after 12:00 they will be using the tender boats to get us back on the ship. We have a whole bunch of stuff planned for tomorrow.
In the meantime, we have taken absolutely TONS and TONS of pictures and there are stories behind every one, so I can’t wait to get them up. We have made good friends with out table-mates and they will be checking out the blog when they get back home (to Washington DC) .
Otherwise, everyone is happy and healthy, and don’t worry, even though I havent been transitting the Alaska page, as soon as I can get a decent connection, I will do it. I have been building it along the way, so no worries, you will see everything.
Mom, there is some fresh Salmon beging shipped directly to you – it will beat me home. Enjoy.
Opal, Roseanna is behaving herself, don’t worry
Love to everyone, we miss you, but not encough to come back early.
Chris and Roseanna
So good to hear from you!!! I’ll bet you are having a great time. Shame about the connectivity, but you’ll catch up soon for sure. Wow, fresh Salmon….what a treat. Guess they ship with dry ice or something.
The birds have eaten up all of the seed now, there is a demand for your birdhouse….a little bird got caught inside the house, but I managed to get it open and he frantically flew away. I’ll refill it. All kinds of birds, droves of them. In Roseanna’s yard, too. Judy took the pups and went to Tyler yesterday….she’ll be back tomorrow, I think. Sure is quiet over there.
I talked to Granny, update on Granny blog. She said the weather should be pleasant for you.
Take care, have a great time…..we’ll catch up on the photos later.
Love…….Mom
Mom, Aunt Judy Took us to her house on Sat. and we spent the night. It was real cool cause she took our bedroom with us and we felt right at home. I barked at the ducks, the goat and the mean looking cow. Judy got Willy another dog but I’ll let her tell you about that. She has the biggest feet. Leiu misses you but she is still a pest and won’t leave me or Patches alone for a minute. We got back home safely this afternoon and are now playing round round the living room furniture. I miss you but am having a good time here. Love Rookie
Hey there. Hope you are having a good time. Rookie and I are playing with Leiu. Rookie taught me that if we get up on the couch Leiu can’t bother us, so when we get tired we just get up on something. Ha She is a very sweet puppy but I just don’t have as much energy as she does, she wants to play all the time. Right now she is chewing on a chew toy and I am sitting in the chair in your den while Mom types on the computer. Have agreat time and don’t worry about us we are donig great. LU Patches
Well glad to hear that you didn’t fall overboard .I kept checking the Alaska page . I’m not surprised about all the ” don’t haves” in Alaska as we couldn’t even listen to the Radio when we were up there in our camper.We had to listen to each other for a change . Don’t worry about us poor guys down here, just have fun . Thats what I’d do . I’m so selfish .Glad to hear Judy has’nt taken some pups to the pound yet cause I’m really looking forward to meeting leiu & seeing Rookie again . I’ve heard theyre moving everything out of your house in SD Roseanna & dumping lots of stuff in a big container outside .Wish I could go thru it. I’ll bet theres lots of good stuff going to the dump .Doesn’t that sound like a true scavenger . Connie is probally right in the middle of it . Bye now Opal
We made it to Juneau. Unfortunately the internetconnectivity challenge followed us all of the way here. Thank God for helocopter pads on ships because at 2:30am there was some sort of medical emergency that required the Coast Guard to fly in and scoop some poor soul off the ship. We have alreadyhave a nice breakfast this morning and will be headed out at 10am to go to Mendenhall Glacier and then on to a Salmon bake. I still have not acquired a taste for salmon yet. We have made great friends on board. Wetaher here is in the upper 40’s so layered clothing will be good, especially up on the mountain. We are taking tons of pictures and building the website, even though we dont seem to be able to transmit it yet. Once its there you all will have a real treat though.
Take care and love from both us and and from Alaska….
Chris and Roseanna
We saw the ship arrive via the webcam! It was awesome. I have clicked on it several times throughout the day. Those Celebrity snobs are there now. Guess that’s why you have to tender back to the ship. You’d like salmon the way I cook it. The glacier thing sounds cool.
Webcam!! I can’t imagine but will put it on my list to learn about!! Hope the day is fabulous. Salmon is so good, not fishy, that’s why it’s good, doesn’t taste like fish,,,,,,,,
Love, Mom…
We made it back after a long day. Mel that is actually Holland American Snobs. They have two ships here, we are here, and Princess is here too. So they made us move out in the middle of the channel. We had a great time at the glacier and I cant wait to upload photos. We took hundreds today at the glacier, of icebergs, and at the Salmon Bake. I still dont really liek salmon but I at least did eat some. Then we took the Mount Roberts tram way to the top of Mount Roberts overlooking Juneau and the harbor, and more pictures. Right now I am sitting on the balcony watching seaplanes land bringing people back from excusions. I have hijacked someone’s unsecure internet access right now but unfortunately they dont have enough bandwidth for me to update the actual website so we will just keep building it and will get it up as soon as we can.
Roseanna is in bed watching CARS on the movie channel.
Thats all from here….. Love to all…
Well, now I see that webcam thing on the original itinerary you put out……just click on, even I can do that!!!! Looks like tomorrow is another great day, this time with trains. This must be the one Granny was talking about. She said it was really beautiful to see. Have a great day.
Love,
Mom
Hey there,
I just wanted to drop a line and let you know everything is good on the home front. I’m keeping everyone in line!
I’m sure you’ll have a ton of stories when you get back. We can’t wait to hear them.
Safe travels,
Elizabeth
Hi friends and family….Elizabeth, thank you for that message, I have been worried because I have not been in contact – - I have only been able to get on internet about once a aday and its slow.
We started off the day with a quick trip to Liarsville, Alaska today. I will explain why they call it that when I can update the Alaska website, but the highlight of the morning was that I was propositioned by a madame!
Moving on, we went to Fraser, BC Canada., population 8. Yes, 8. And all 8 of them work for Candian Customs. We got checked out, and then came back into Skagway via an old mining railroad. I have literally HUNDREDS of incredible pictures and I did a viodo blog from the train as well. I can’tg wait to post all of this stuff.
Afternoon spend in downtown (4 blocks by 2 blocks) Skagway, population 800, except when cruise ships are here. This has to be the town that Northern Exposure was inspired from. When you see the pictures you will understand why I say that.
By the way, gallon of regular unleaded in Sklagway, 3.97. Hambuger and fries, 18.00. Talk about a captive audience.
Roseanna has her feet up and we are both going to relax a bit. We were up at 5am this morning. By the way, its now getting dark around midnight, and first ligt around 3:45am.
Love to all….
Your descriptions combined with the webcam shots make us want to see more! I am thinking that less than 4 hours of darkness would be hard on me. Four questions: Since you’re giving prices, where did the madam fit in? Did you try the burger? Was it worth the price? Is the casino open between ports? (Lee, you know you want to know the answer to that one.)
ME TOO , Bring on the casinos . We’re having another heat wave & I could sure use some of your glaciers .We got up at 5 to go get groceries when it was cool . that was ok but had to take a couple of naps later . Tomorrow we celebrate our 57th wedding anniversary . We’ll probally go out to lunch .That will be the bigee for the day .We’re doing good,lots of company .Keep up the good reporting bye opal
Okay….answer to the questions. Madame said I looked like a big tall glass of water and she wanted to drink me up. Hamburger – - no I had the fish and chips instead. But everything here is just amazingly expensive. Still, you only get to do this once in a lifetime so might as well buy the burger. I wanted to do a helicopter ride today but roseanna wouldnt hear of it. I have a lot of thsi stuff on the website as soon as I can transmit it, but the food on the ship has been exceptionally good, and the vote is that this ship is especially appropriate for this type of cruise in terms of layout. The casinos open as soon as we leave port – like within minutes. And Roseanna has lost a few dollars more than me. I have only lost 20 bucks. Opal, congrats on the anniversary. Mom, I need a Beacon report and a Granny report, please. And tell Judy Roseanna needs a Lieu and Rookie report.
As soon as the website is up, it will be redone. I have rearranged everything so that each stop will have its own page due to the number of pictures we have taken. I also have 4 or 5 video blogs to put up as well, one of which I did on the train today.
I am sitting on the balcony right now looking over at the Diamond Princess and the Golden Princess, and to my left is the Hooland American Zuiderdam. But most imprtantly, 2 orca whales are playing in the channel by the Princess ships – - jumping up and down as a pair through the water. Too fast for a picture.
Mommy & Daddy: Happy 57th Anniversary from Skagway Alaska. It is freezing on the deck where I am writing this but wanted to let you know I am thinking of you both. I did drop a bit of $ in the Casino last night. Some lady took my ‘pig’ slot machine and won $400 quarters. I was robbed! Had a good time in Skagway on the train that came down from the mountain through the gorge. No mounties at Frasier, British Columbia where there are only 8 people living. No kidding. See, there is a town with less population than Martin, SD. Have a wonderful Anniversary. Love, Roseanna
Since I am highjacking a weak Alaska Power and Light connection right now, I will keep chatting a bit. Tonight is a 50’s dress up sock hop. Last night there was a big sing along in the Schooner Bar and, yes, I had to participate there. Does ANYONE really understand the song, Miss American Pie? I don’t either, but it is a great bar sing along song. Tonight is aqlso Disco Night in the Odessy Club (Its not called the Viking Lounge on this ship). I will dance some disco in honor of my friend and boss, Sue.
I am amazed at, here the last day of July, how damn cold it is here. It must be in the upper 40’s but with about a 40 mph wind that makes it very cold on the skin, and there is definately snow in the mountains. We were told there was snow in town here until the first part of July. The way Skagway is situated in the valley, the winds whip through here, often as high as 80mph. Given that much of the tourism help here in the summer LIVE IN TENTS (YESSSS, Thats what I said), it cannot be very comfortable for them.
An RV spot here is 1500/mo. Gary and Mel, don’t get any ideas. there are only about 10 RV spots in this part of the valley. The closest ones other than the one shere are over 200 miles a way.
Unlike Juneau and Ketchikan, one can actually DRIVE to Skagway. Its about 300 miles from the Alaskan Highway, which can then take you all the way to Miami. Juneau and Ketchikan are only assessible by water. Everything that gets there has to to be shipped in. Even the Juneau airport is assessible only by ferry or barge. There are a lot of houses on little islands here and when people want to go to tow, they drive their car onto a little flat barge and then drive the barge to a little dock on the side of the bay. So,, going to get a load of bread is not an easy proposition. And though there is a Starbucks here, the nearest Wal Mart, McDonalds, or Drug Store is over 120 miles away. NOTE to Roseanna – - – even SKAGWAY Alaska has a STARBUCKS. ‘Nuff said on that issue.
There are 4 policemen her ein Skagway in the summer, and that is reduced to 2 policeman and a husky in the winter. Their biggest crime here is that last year there were a couple of bicycles stolen. That’s about as exciting as it gets.
Bigger issue in my mind is the whoel doctor thing. No doctors here. The nearest medical care outside of a nurse is hundreds of miles a way, over an horu or two by helicopter, ,and that only possible if the airfield isn’t socked in. The airfield is named Harding Field, and it has no tower. Warren Harding did stop here for 3 hours one time, so they named the airfield after him. He died 3 weeks later. Not sure of the connection there, but we hear all sorts of interesting stories like that the longer we are here.
Enough mindless trivia. Its cold out here.
Thank you to my team and work for keeping a lid of things. I am very fortunate to be able to work with each of you, and you make me proud every day.
Love to all,
Chris
Sounds like a beautiful place, but bet you miss your connectivity…..Really remote up there.
Beacon is brooding…usually she is OK for a few days, but after that she really gets cranky when you’re gone. She hates all the noise out back and will go get in her crate when it gets too loud.
I just talked to Granny and she sounds fine, still anxious to drive and they haven’t given her the OK yet. I’ll post on blog.
Enjoy the trip and keep us updated….
Love, Mom
Hi everyone. I take back what I said about Northern Exposure and Skagway. Icy Strait Point – pop 800. Definately Northern Exposure. More on that when you are able to see the site. Internet is challenge here still and there is no connectity whatsover in town here. They dont use the internet here at all. Credit card purchases? Keep the carbon. I am serious.
Roseanna and I went whale watching today in Glacier Bay, and took some of the most incredible pictures of these creatures you can imagine. Absolutely an awesome experience. It was 2.5 hours of slowly trolling looking for both whales and brown bear on the shorelines. Bald eagles are a common sight here as well.
Formal night tonight, and the big midnight buffet too. I dont want to even think abotu the weight I have gained on this ship. I will deal with that when I get home.
Tomorrow, a complete day at sea simply cruisng around different glaciers and icebergs. We have been promised a lot of sealion sightings, dolphins, and more whale.
Did you know that there is such a thing as a Glacier Worm? Google it. Its true.
My thoughts are with my team and with Sharon Nicholson’s family today. I am sorry I can’t be there with you.
Love from Alaska – Chris and Roseanna
Gee, you have to call from Alaska for me to find out about a bridge collapsing in Minneapolis….
I called Granny and she was watching it on the TV..they’re having constant coverage on the local channels. She said people are going over there, using cell phones, getting in the way, so they have asked people to stay away and stay off their cell phones. Rual and Audrey are out of town until Sunday, so I know they are OK…She said Snelling is covered with traffic..probably an alternate route or something. Anyway, Granny’s fine……
Thanks for the wonderful anniversary song .We must have been out to lunch when you called .I was going to get a steak but my stomach would only tolerate a BLT sandwich but we did bring home a piece of Lemon pie . Had a nice day & hope you did too . Love Mom
Hey There,
Glad to hear you guys are having a wonderful time. Things here are just fine. All three of the babies are doing fine. Seems like Rookie taught Leui to bark at things unseen. She is at this moment trying to perfect it. They are plying hard and pulling out every toy in the house. I try to pick them up a couple of times a day so that they can do it again. Had lunch with Janie yesterday at Cabbage Patch in Cedare Hill. Nothing much else going on I have read three books so now I am looking around here for a book to read, yeah I know there are several. Am going over to Cheri’s later and we are going to set up the garage sale. Hope we do well. Nothin else new around here. Let me hear from you when you can. Love & Kisses to both of my favorite peopleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. LU Judy
Just wanted to say “hi” and that we all miss you. Elizabeth and I are keeping the “guys” in line and thnaks to Xanax I am dealing with the sign situations OK. LOL. Take lot’s of pictures!!!
Cathy and Elizabeth, thank you for hanging in there while I am gone. I appreciate that a lot!
Mom, glad the family is fine in Minneapolis. The more we hear about the bridge the worse it sounds. We have watched a little bit of it on CNN International.
Opal, sorry we missed you.
Judy, I hope the puppys dont wear you out.
Mel, where are you?????
We had a nice dinner last night. It was lobster night and we enjoyed it plenty! I actually had prime rib and lobster. I have to say the food has been terrific on this trip. On previous cruises there was at least one night I thought could have been better but not this time.
I was up at 6am this morning, ready to see Hubbard Glacier. When I went out on the balcony the first thing I noticed was it was a lot colder than it was when we went to bed last night. The second was the ocean was icy, like a sonic drink. Crushed ice. A few bigger chuncks the size of VM Beetles, but mostly slush and smaller chuncks by the ship.
Roseanna hung out in the room but I bundled up and went to the front bow ont he helicpoter pad, along with about 1500 of my friends. Warm ups of Baileys Irish Creme were being served and enjoyed.
I will save the rest for the website but just know I took over 100 pictures of the most amazing chunk of ice. The sun was shining through the fog making the ice look royal blue. It was just beautiful.
I also took pictures of 2 bears and several sea lions. I have already built the webpages so AS SOON AS I can get reliable broadband internet sufficient enough to upload, I will upload the entire cruise. I am hoping that once we get to Sweard tomorrow morning maybe my Sprint card will work or I can highjack a better WiFi connection than what I have had on the ship. I don’t know about the resorts we are going to in Alaska in terms of connectivity. They are remote and in the mountains, so it may be even worse than it has been on the ship, because at least I could get slow speed connections here to leave blog entires and check email.
Anyway, everyone is bummed a little about approaching the end of the cruise. We have made a lot of friends and met some really nice people. I also met and got to visit for a few minutes with the captain early this afternoon which was extremely interesting. I will be posting more about that experience on the actual trip website as well.
Since we are going on to the overland portion of our trip tomorrow, we are the very last group to get off the ship. We do not actually leave the ship until 9:30am and then we are bused directly to the resort in Alyeska. After that, on Saturday, we are off to Fairbanks and to Denali on Sunday, then to Talkeetna on Monday and then to Anchorage on Tuesday. More pictures! You guys will be tired of looking at pictures when I am finally done with this adventure. I knwo once we get tio Anchorage I will be able to post the site because we will be at a Marriott!!!
Also, this morning I taped my 5th video blog entry. I don’t know if you will call them a success or not but the have been fun to do. They are kinda corny and I doubt they will become a mainstay of my normal blog. Its too hard to watch myself.
That’s about it. Love to all from Chris and Roseanna in Alaska.
PS. Remind me to tell you about my new girlfriend, Tessy, from Manilla.
Your doing good Chris with the reporting & we’ll love the pictures whenever your able to get them on there . I was invited downstairs for supper & play cards with the girls had a nice time .Dean could have went but to many girls for himso its his loss as we had fun . Connie may come up tomorrow to shop for school clothes .Thats awful , They just got out of school or it seems like it anyway .They start on 20th of Aug . Where did the summer go ? Sure has been nice sitting out on the Patio in the evenings .Take care you two . Love Opal
Hey, is Tessy from Manilla the girl who propositioned you? The tall drink of water girl…..
Well, you have another whole week of vacationing to do…..you’ll be seeing a lot of sights. Bundle up, sounds like it’s going to be really cold, gets colder the farther up north you get.
Yes, the bridge collapse is really bad. Making people think about all of those billions of dollars going other places instead of into our own infrastructure. About time people got mad about that!!!
Stay in touch when you can.
Love, Mom
Be careful of the Moose when you get into Anchorage. My son says they just walk all through the city and they have the right of way…pissing them off is not a good idea! He also says to beware of bears as they sometime wander into town. He says to tell you if you do any salmon fishing there will most likely be bears sharing the river with you and they have a bad habit if taking your salmon off the hook once you’vre caught one…the prudent thing to do is just let them have it. LOL. Can’t wait to see all the pictures. Miss ya.
Still here. Just busy. We actually have a full house this weekend for the first time since June, unfortunately it’s a family reunion and you know how we feel about the whole mob mentality thing. I am picturing Tessie from Manilla as not being very tall, do you really think it could work out? Off to bake muffins. Keep the blog coming. It keeps us entertained while we wait on the pictures.
Well Tessie is a sweetheart. MNo mom, she didn’t proposition me in Liarsville – she just sat next to me at dinner all week long and made me laugh the whole time. We really had a great group of folks as tablemates and we are going to miss all of them. They have the website address though – - so Connie, ,Tessie, Bryant and Kevin, it was great to meet you guys. You made a terrific trip even more special.
OKAY, here is the newsflash of the day. THE WEBSITE IS UPDATED.
YEAH!!! We have broadband access at the resort here in Alyeska, so I was able to push up the pictures AND the video blogs. So enjoy.
We are abotu to go out and check out the ski lifts on the mountains and just get familiar with the town. Tomorrow we leave here for Anchorage and a hopper flight to Fairbanks. We hope to check out some Huskys there!
Love to all, – - let us knwo what you think of the website and videos.
Chris & Roseanna
Oh, wow,wow,wow!!! I really enjoyed my part of the Alaska trip, too. Photos of the ice and snow made me want to put on a coat, photos high up inside the boat elevator and balconys made me queasy, the food displays made me hungry. Even a safari, what a deal. Beautiful country there, and now you have almost a week to really see the lay of the land. Did you find any gold when you were panning…Granny says you always find something there!! I am blown away with the nature and animals. I will go back through and look at these again…..
Love, Mom
Well, the whole gold panning thing – - – we basically paid money to have the opportunity to dig 3 specs of gold glitter out of a rusty pan. But it was all in the experience of the thing.
I just updated the site again with pictures from Alyeska and from dinner. We are going to turn in a little early tonight I think.
We made it to Fairbanks, and surprise, surprise, we have broadband connection here. About to go out and explore the resort, but I did just now push up a qucik update of pictures.
Your doing good guys,course i always knew you would . your making me so hungry just thinking about all the good food your chowing down on .I have to go get some crackers as my stomach is growling & I can even smell that steak & lobster & yummy desserts . I had company today ,Connie & Jenni & baby Sara trotting all over the place & getting into Gramas things but thats okay .She’s so cute .She can have anything she wants .The videos turned out pretty good ,a little dark but hid your pimples from all that rich food your eating .have fun .Opal
Just a note to let you know everything here is great. The babies enjoyed their “playday” yesterday at Cheri’s and were ready for bedd last night. Finished up the garage sale this morning. They are now play in the living room. I told they we were going to bed early tonight because I am tired. Wish I was There with you. While you are looking around Fairbanks, think of me. My Mom and I use to go shopping there in the summer because the only other place to buy clothes was at the PX at Ft. Greely where we lived. So in the summer we would go to Fairbanks and buy essentials for the up coming school year. The only other place was the Sears catalog and when we finally got what we ordered we wore it even if it didn’t fit exactly right. There were no returns. I went to a school that had about 122 students from Kindegarden thru High School. The last year I was there, there was only one (1) Graduating Senior. The natives also went to school on base beause it was the only school around. Fairbanks was about 100 miles from Ft. Greely. I don’t know if Ft. Greely is still open or not. But I can tell you even as a kid the country around there was beautiful. I remember the flowers expecially the wild orchids. I also remember all the good tasting berries and the bears like real well. I also remeber the trading post that was outside the fort. You could buy staples and also buy anything else you might want to drink. There was always men there drinking. You guys continue to have a great time and stay safe. Rookie, Leiu and Patches send you their love. Take Care LU Judy
PS I loved your pictures and blogs they were great and made me even more jealous. But both of you deserve all the good times. Eat some more great food for me. LU Judy
We miss you guys terribly, but can tell that you are really having a wonderful time. It’s hard to wrap our brains around wearing coats and sweatshirts since summer has finally arrived here with a steamy 97-100 degrees everyday. The glacier pictures and the thought of seeing the whales are enough to make us want to go someday when we live by a normal schedule. Will you be our tour guides? And what was the ugly smelly thing? The menu at the Cajun place looked awesome. I am a bit envious of their accolades.
Looks like you had another great day, this time with beautiful weather. The lasagna looked delicious, in fact all of the food looks gourmet. So tomorrow you will see some more animals. Steer clear of the bears, I’ve heard they’re mean up there.
Two big boxes of smoked Alaskan salmon came today. Note on the box says not necessary to refrigerate until opened…so they didn’t need dry ice after all!! I know it is going to be great. I enjoy the photos and descriptions and can just imagine how everything must be there. No rain here for two whole days now!! I took the certificates to Dan’s house on Thursday. Beacon says hello and she misses you. She thinks she deserves extra attention when you aren’t around.
Hope you continue to have good internet connections….
Love, Mom
We have a great recipe for Salmon dip, the only Salmon I have enjoyed here. Tonight we had another excellent meal even though we promised ourselves that we wouldn’t eat so heavy. We brought the UNO cards and havent played once. That is how absorbed he have been! Well, its brihgt daylight outside right now at 12:45am, so I best go to bed. We have to be up at 6am to go to Denali.
This Denali trip sounds like it is going to be a high point, with all of the animals to photo. The wildlife is interesting, and just imagine the live through those sub-zero winters year after year. I guess the ducks can fly south, but those land bound animals just have to suffer through. Well, the photos made me hungry again..I wondered if they would have fried seafood or if everything would be baked. Hope your internet connections work at Denali.
Love, Mom…..
That train trip must have been fabulous . Look at that bridge over the gorge .I don’t think I could ride over that . Do they have a trail where you can just walk over & get back on ? Ha,Ha just kidding i think . Enjoyed your dinner video . Everybody looked like they were having a good time .Its always hard at the end of a vacation but your young & will get to go many places yet so cheer up .I’m going with the girl friends to the movie ” Hair Spray ” this afternoon .Sure hope it’s worth seeing .Talk to you later. Opal
Pikes WaterFront Lodge was a neat place & look at that food .I’ll have to go get some more crackers to get me thru the nite . We’ve been hearing the motorcycles going by on the highway in a steady roar.also the Helecopters have been going over a lot as we’re near the hospital & they go & pick up the pieces after the accidents . I don’t why they ride after darkbut they feel like they have to get there on the first day of the Sturgis Rally . I’m glad we’re not out on the road tonight . Have a good day tomorrow & be sure & get some rest once in a while .Opal
Hi everyone. Just posted a very brief update under the Denali page. We just got to out room at its very late, so I didnt put up pictures but took TONS and TONS. You wont believe some of the pictures and we had an excellent guide today. I iwll try to update more tomorrow night
Thanks for brightening my day with the phone call. The rest of the afternoon I walked around say 40 degrees, 40 degrees, 40 degrees. I think it helped a little.
Glad yall are having a good time. I liked the pictures of the bears and ducks, I hope some day to make the same cruise, with Homer and Judy. See ya when yall get back to Texas. By the way your friend with the beard looks like we could be twins.
Bear
Hi everyone…..We are updated again. Lots of new stuff for you to look at. We arrived in Talkeetna tonight and it has been raining here for days. But as we arrived, the sky was clearing and the sun was out. It was warm – 65ish – short sleeved weather, and this evening Mount McKinley (AKA Denali) treated us by peaking out from behind the clouds it usually hides behind. It was absolutely beautiful, and so significant that the hotel operator was calling each room to tell everyone here to look out their window.
Our trip is winding down, and I will be adding a lot of background comentary to the website that isnt there right now. I wanted to get the photography up first so you could see it, but after we get back to Texas, we will add a lot more info and kinda wrap the whole thing up.
Remember – - 40 degrees, 40 degrees, 40 degrees.
In a month from now, there will be snow where I am right now. In a month from now, the cruise ships will stop, and Denaili will close down and board up until May 15. In a month from now, all of the seasonal workers – - many new friends that we have made, will return to their Fall-Spring lives.
It is so amazing different here.
Hi everyone. This is the first time Chris has let me talk. And that is pretty hard to do. This has been such an eye popping experience here & Chris is right. We just eat & eat & eat. Yes, it is true that I didn’t want to do the early RAINY MORNING ATV trip with Chris but it turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip. Yes, I may give brother Glenn a run for his money as he has a really nice ATV rig that he uses for hunting & fishing. I see a red Polaris parked in my driveway in the future, with a seat for my two kids Rookie & Lieu. Judy, I know you will be glad to get back home but you will never know how much I appreciate you babysitting for me and housetraining Lieu. You had your hands full with 3 doggies. Mom, it sounds like you are getting around quite well & yes I ate the best piece of ‘Fruits of the Forrest’ pie just for you on the train. Dad, you would have loved the 3 legs of the train ride with that glass top ceiling on the viewing car. It is approaching midnight here and the last rays of the sunset are still visible on the horizan outside our room. Way cool room. See you all soon. Roseanna
Glad you guys are having such a good time. The babies are doing great. Rookie seems alittle sad he doesn’t wag his tail as much, I think he misses his Mom. I know what you mean about how wonderful it is there. It is a truly life changing experience. I lived up there for two & on half years. Of course it was before if was as commercilized and there weren’t any tourists, if fact it wasn’t even a state I don’t think. But they do have hard winters. That is where I learned that if can be so cold that you can’t make a snow ball, the snow will not stick together,and no snowmen either. My Dad got an old weather ballon abd we poured water on it until it was about 8 inches thick, cut in a door and played in that igloo for about a month after the thaw. I wonder if they still dig so many grave in the spring and keep the dirt heated to bury folks in the winter? If they ran out of graves then you were buried in the spring. Awful thought, Huh? Continue to have a great time, you guys can rest when you get home. I am off to Cheri’s for alittle bit, she has a doctor’s appointment. Miss you guys. Take care & Stay Safe LU Both Judy
Beautiful photos,beautiful country. Way, way in the wilderness, but amazing it’s one of the places you found the right internet connections. Quite a contrast, a huge white swan in one photo and a big brown bear in the next. Looks like there was a lot of mud and water when you rode the ATVs. At least it wasn’t ice…..you’re coming home the week it will probably finally hit 100 degrees here, a real difference from where you are now. Guess this was the very best time to go to Alaska!!
Love you, Mom….
That picture of the ” Fruits of the Forest Pie ” was just too foul & my own daughter is guilty . When you get to S D you can make up for this by picking up some as you drive by the Ranch cafe on your way to Rapid City . The pictures are just great .Chris must have stayed up all nite to photgraph the mountain .No wander hes sleeping on the train when hes supposed to be looking at the scenery or was the before the mountain ? whatever. I haven’t looked at the Danili Park trip yet .That should be the icing on the cake .I’m glad you went but will be glad to see you back .Have a good flight home .Love Mom
You all look pretty cute in those outfits .NEXT STOP ,THE MOON .great scenery & the animals are wonderful .Opal
Hi everyone, we made it to Anchorage and will settle in for the night here. We will check out the city tomorrow and will be on the red eye into DFW on Thursday morning.
We had a great day, and I am updating the Alaska site right now.
This has been an amazing trip. I think I said earlier that, even though I have been lucky enough to travel all over the country in my work, its different when you can do something liek this, leaving everything else behind, and just have fun, act silly, and kick back. We did a lot of that, and made a lot of friends along the way, many of whom you will read about.
See you soon……
Hey there guys it’s David the host guide! I stopped by to see your blog and it is so well put together. This is really a great way to show anybody what your trip was like. I had a great time with you all and I wish you safe travels home. Take care.
Thanks David. We are in Seattle right now. We enjoyed getting to spend time with you and wish you well. Keep in touch.
Thanks for sharing your Alaska cruise with us. We enjoyed every day of it. What a great narrative – even enjoyed your videos. That looks like a great trip, and one we hope to take ourselves one day.
Love, Daddy and Pat
40 degrees, 40 degrees, 40 degrees
Hey folks. Returned safe & sound to Big D around 7ish this morning and we were dragging, even though we caught a nap on the flight in from Seattle. Hasn’t Chris done a great job on this blog? He was so diligent in updating as often as he could and when the connection was 2 slow, whoa, look out. He really captured the flavor of the trip by not only showing you the fantastic scenery but also all the folks who took such good care of us. Royal Carribean is the only way to go. We saw the travelers with the other companies and they did not match up to our 4 star treatment. Never having to worry about where you are supposed to be or where your bags are is a wondeful thing. This was a trip of a lifetime made even better by traveling with Chris, Tom & Joanne. You guys made it very special for me and I will cherish those memories while wintering in South Dakota. Back in Mansfield, Judy did such a great job with the kids, Rookie & Lieu. They even had a bath before I got home. Judy, you really made me feel comfortable about this trip knowing that my 4 leggeds were safe and happy. Thank you so much for all your help.
Hi Chris and Roseanne,
We enjoyed getting to meet you and thank you for sharing your website with us. We thought as much of Alaska as you do, and 100% agree with how great Ken and Trever and the other people were to us. We just didn’t want to come back to reality.
Thanks again,
Tom and Geri Sneyd
Tom & Geri: Hey, good to hear from you guys & glad you made it home safely. Chris & I came back to 100+ heat so what a change. Of course Chris had to head back to work today so what a shock. Meanwhile, this retired lady stayed home to recover. It was a great time wasn’t it.
Okay, we’ve been back a week now from Alaska. And I, for one, am ready to go back. Don’t know if I could do the guide thing – too much work and you have to smile and be nice all of the time – but I could lead those ATV trail rides, I think.
We know what you mean about the steamy weather. Never thought So Dak would be as hot as Texas but it sure has been .We got a break last nite with lots of rain & some huge hail .Didn’t care much for the hail but you have to take the bad with the good . Sure appreciate all your work to let us enjoy your trip too . I finally got to get my hair cut yesterday & i now look like a boy , an old boy with gray hair . At least i’ve still got hair for the time being . Then i went to a garage sale & bought a blender for 3 $ to make some smoothies with or thats what i told myself any way . I just wanted to buy something i think . I’m looking at those drinks in Tom & Joanns hands. sure look good . I could make those too .I better go see how it works . Chris ,was that you that had the dip recipe with salmon ? i’d like that recipe .maybe i could use it with the canned salmon Roseanna sent me .Well love to all Opal
Hi Opal,
The dip they served on the whale watching tour:
2 can Alaskan Wild salmon
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 (8 oz.) sour cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
4 tbsp. green onions and tops, minced
2 tsp. onion, grated, and juices
Dash – Garlic Salt
Pepper to taste
2 tsp. liquid smoke
Chill over night and serve with crackers
I am not a salmon eater but that was good stuff. I think if I made it I woudl use the smoked widl salmon in the vacuum packs insteadof the canned stuff.
It was sooooooooooooo good! Thanks for the recipe Chris, now I have to go online and order some more smoked salmon.
Thanks Chris, I’m looking forward to trying it .I like salmon about anyway its fixed . I’m enjoying my time off from chemo & went with my gal pals on the new trolley they have started up in Rapid City .It only lasts an hour but you see a lot of the prettiest parts of town .We gals enjoyed it & i only wished they went a little slower so i could better see the old Homes they have here .They have put in so many new gardens & added to the parks all over town . Its just wonderful .Thanks again Opal
A Big Texas SHOUT OUT to Ken and to David in Alaska, both from whom I have had emails in the past week. I bet you are starting to see the season change up there by now.
hello!
looks lik u had an anazing time!
me and my mother are going on an RCI cruise to alaska on serenade in less then a month and are very excited!
any recommendations?
thanks
We had a TERRIFIC time! You can look through my itinerary at http://www.ctclark.com/alaska to see everything we did. It sounds like you have already done that though. The only thing we didn’t do that I wish we had was taking a helicopter ride onto a glacier. That would have been cool. I would also add that its worth it, both in money and in time, to add the Royal Celebrity Alaska tour onto the cruise. We loved the train ride across Alaska every bit as much as the cruise itself.