Summer Fun: Week 7

Ah yes, a few days late...let's just go with "I'm blogging on Alaska time"....

SAW

Be it by big boat...

Or little boat...

Or even a scooter

A cruise and excursions offer so many wonderful things to see..

HEARD

 A week at sea is filled with a variety of conversations...

From anticipation and excitement...

 To happy trips down memory lane...

Traveling with good friends is highly recommended in terms of providing a wonderful time to catch up and reconnect...

DID

There was a day at sea

Ketchikan

Icy Point Straits (Honnah)

Juneau

Skagway

And Hubbard Glacier

It truly was a week that will likely rate as one of the best week's ever!  

For more details on each day, please check in on Hubby's blog...

Summer of Fun Week 6

Downtown Vancouver:  Olympic Cauldron...served as the broadcast center for the 2010 Winter Olympics

Ready-Set-sail...yep, later today we board our cruise and set off for the inner passage of Alaska.  But first, I shall catch myself up with what we've seen-heard-done in the past week.

SAW...

I can easily see that with these epic-type adventures, the days start to become a blur around the 10 day point.   What did we see this week?  In looking over my pictures, I'd have to say we've seen a little bit of everything:   From the classics to the off the beaten path...here are a few of the week's visual highlights...

The flowers at Pike Place Market were incredible...and very affordable...

Apparently in the Seattle area...you either go to Starbucks or you go for coffee...they are not one in the same.   I prefer "coffee"...I can get Starbucks back home..this was a cozy coffee shop in the town of Snohomish..yummy...

 Walls of gum and flying fish...both "classics" of the Pike Place Market...

Everett=Boeing airplane manufacturing...took the tour, no cameras allowed, which is a shame as it was hard to fathom the size of the hangers...large enough to allow for 5-6 747s to be assembled at the same time...

HEARD

The familiar voices of friends...be it friends we've known for decades to friends we've just met through our online interests.

   It's been a wonderful way to learn about the areas we are visiting through their local take on things.  

My friend Sue served as a gracious hostess and taxi driver as she showed us around the city of Vancouver.   Recently retired from the city, she had the inside scoop on some of the lesser known quirks of the city...my favorite story was the one she shared about a resident who intentionally tried to kill off the trees in order to list her condo as a "unobstructed view".   I guess I found the story unsettling because in our section of CO, trees are not abundant and so trees are a selling point, not a hinderance.

DID

Oh the things we've done this week...here's the highlights along with my opinions on whether I'd encourage other travelers to include these places on their trip to the Pacific NW.

 Last Friday, Patrick and I took the "duck" tour of Seattle.  Yes, a wee bit corny and cheesy, but a thoughtful tour of the city, infused with facts, and funny stores about the city.  Yes, worth the price of admission.  The tour takes you on Lake Union and the guides even show you the classic house from the movie Sleepless in Seattle.   I found it amusing to learn not only how little of the movie was actually filmed in this city, but also, that the year they filmed, they had a major drought and many of the rain scenes involved special effects.  

 On the weekend, we visited a couple different attractions in the Everett area.  Our favorite was a docent led tour of a very small museum called the Historic flight foundation.  A very small museum that held a collection of aircraft dating from the 1920s to the 1960s.   What was unique to this museum is that all the restored aircraft can be flown...and for a price, you could be the passenger on one of these vintage aircrafts.   For an aviation and or history buff, this should definitely be a must see event.  Our friends in Everett took us to visit one of the wineries in the Seattle area.

typically I am a huge fan of this wine label, but perhaps it was the heavy lunch I'd had or it was they were trying to push some of their higher end varieties, but I left the tasting not very impressed.  Just the same, it was interesting to see what the locals do on the weekend...as the tasting room was packed, as our friends commented it was actually a quiet crowd compared to other times they'd visited.  

Here in Vancouver, we visited the iconic Capilano Suspension Bridge.   first built in 1889, the suspension bridge crosses the Capilano river some 230 feet above the river, and spans 460 feet in length.  I was worried the height would leave me feeling unsettled, but given we arrived early in the morning, there was little sway and the views were incredible.  

We also took a horse drawn carriage through Stanley Park.  A great way to see the park, and hear the history of this park, which is even larger than our Central Park in NY City.  

In addition to these structured experiences, we toured Vancouver by car.  Like any big city, one needs nerves of steel and patience, but in general this big city has a unique feel to it..almost like a small town.  The shiny high rises are rather eye catching and everything appears new=clean and fresh.  If you are passing through Vancouver, be sure to set aside an extra day or two just to explore...you won't regret it!

Until next time...I hope you are able to enjoy a little escape of your own...

Summer of Fun Week 5

SAW-HEARD-DID

Yep, no time shall be wasted on an amusing comic to serve as an introduction...it's time to dive in and recap this past week.  

SAW

Well, a quick glance at the calendar and I see that we are at the mid-point of summer break.   In some ways, that makes me sad...but then reality returns and I think "girl, quit your fussing, you get plenty of time off compared to others around you".

   You could say "I've seen the light"...

Or in this case the beautiful glass work of Chuhilly...

And I've also seen furry friends..

Sharing my morning walk with this deer friend...

A smiling spouse

Ok, capturing the sunset is more easily accomplished than catching him smile.

And a Happy Thing...

 Ok, this is more of a happy mama, 

happy to have a kid willing to do the touristy things with her...

Ah yes, there he is smiling with man's best friends...

As you can clearly see, we continue to enjoy this Great Escape...

HEARD

The silence of the the plains...

He is his father's son...enjoying the quiet...

The rush of running water  be it from a Bavarian fountain in the Cascade mountains of central WA 

Summer of Fun Week 4

Well, let's get this party started...but first a look back on the past week.

SAW HEARD DID

SAW
I saw the first part of this week as a chance to catch up on critical tasks that needed to be done before leaving town for a month.

  Mind you, "critical" is a term that means something different to each individual.   For me, that translated to dinner and or coffee with my friends, catching  a movie (Ocean's 8:   A fun movie to at least catch when it comes out on video)and a "therapy appointment".   Ok, for me, that means "chair" or hair therapy...getting the hair cut and colored because well, this gray old lady prefers to be blond as long as there is $ to make it so.

Helping Ms. TZ embrace a new decade...

SB ensures the coffee board stays current

HEARD
The anticipation and excitement of both Things as we prepared for our travels.

For Thing 2, he will be staying close to home.  Can you imagine being "home alone" at age 18, with the parents and brother gone for 2 weeks?  Yeah, so  can we, so we've got a plan for some spot checks by neighbors and some video cameras discreetly placed in the garage.

  For Thing 1, he has decided to join hubby and I on the first leg of our adventure, which I have called "Changs Great Escape" or CGE.   And well, 2 days in, he really does seem to be enjoying the ride.

Father-son moments coupled with a  a siesta as we cruised along the highway

DID
We did manage to leave home as planned on Wednesday.

With the first reserved stop not until Friday, we are taking our time get there.   The first night (Wednesday) found us at the Vedauwoo Campground in the Pole Mountain region of Medicine Bow National Forest.

 We stayed at what is called "dry camping" spot, for a small fee of $10/night, you get a paved pull out spot that easily fits the RV, with a picnic table and fire pit should you want to build a camp fire.

 I enjoyed taking a trip down memory lane, as I recalled spending weekends up amongst the rocks rappelling wth my ROTC unit.   Some 32 years later, the details are for sure foggy as is the thought that "how the heck did I get up there, much less have the courage to come down harnessed to a rope?".   Oh the things we could do when our bodies and minds weren't so fixed and rigid.

Thursday was mostly a driving day, passing through the rugged landscape that is south central Wyoming.   We made a long pit stop and toured the Wyoming Frontier Prison in Rawlins, Wyoming.   Not to be confused with the Territorial Prison outside of Laramie, which is where prisoners were held while the Rawlins facility was being built.

Honestly...I was grimacing not grinning..

Housing inmates from 1901 to 1980s, the facility now offers a small museum and a very nicely presented tour of the grounds.   Seeing the conditions of the cell blocks, is surely enough to motivate me to remain a law abiding citizen.

We would reach Lander late in the afternoon and after harsh words spoken to Waze (she tried to take us down a bike path) we found the City Park.   For free, we are camping along the Popo Aggie river.   

Thank you kind citizens of Lander, Wyoming!

Until next time...

Summer of Fun Week 3

Sad...but oh so accurate...
SAW-HEARD-DID

Saw:  This week I saw myself falling into that pattern of thinking "let's put that off until tomorrow" that occurs when the calendar is wide open up enough to facilitate complete procrastination.  But alas, a few events were scheduled so let's take a look at what did occur this past week.

Last Friday, Dom and I joined our friends the Ws to watch their youngest daughter receive her Master's degree from DU.  If the venue looks familiar it is because it's held on the same campus where the Things had their graduation. 

And I tried my hand at taking pictures...J style.   For years, Hubby has teased his college buddy about the type of pictures he shares on-line.  J is all about the candid shot...even if blurry or off center, why not, that's sometimes how life unfolds, right?

And look, I almost captured the elusive concept of Hubby smiling....

Ah, who am I kidding...this is more my way of taking a picture: while the lighting is not ideal, but it tells the story of proud  mama K, the graduate and her two older sisters who had flown out from WA to celebrate her sister's accomplishments.  

Thank you Ws for letting us join you in your family celebrations!

HEARD:

 The talented young kids in the cast of the traveling Broadway production of School of Rock.  Alas, no photos are allowed but this past Sunday, I joined a couple friends for this show.  What a sweet story with an incredibly talented group of young artists.

I love how my friends are always up for a new adventure...

DID:  speaking of which, this week we did something new, and maybe slightly out of our comfort zone...with a visit to the local gun club for "ladies night".  

It has easily been 25 years since I've been to the range, and while not completely like riding a bike, the skill set came back after a few rounds.  Something different for sure, and yes, something we will likely try again.

In addition to this, I spent the week with the usual summer pursuits..had dinner with a couple friends, read a book (or two) and while hard to imagine, I did actually spend a little time on some decluttering tasks in my craft room.  It's proving to be a bigger challenge than maybe I'm up for, but as I shared with a friend, I'm starting to feel like a "hoarder in training" so it's time I let go of the stuff that I know I have no desire to use, even if there was a time when I used the stuff and found joy in the crafting process. 

Final note, as a practice run, I'm completing this entry using just my IPad.  Next week we head out for several weeks on the road.  There is no need to bring a laptop, which means I need to practice how to use Blogger on the I-pad.  Formatting isn't as easy so patience and forgiveness is greatly appreciated.

Until next time...