The best Christmas present ever

Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen, 
For now the sky is all serene; 
The god of day – the orb of love – 
Has hung his ensign high above; 
The sky is all ablaze.

(Gilbert and Sullivan really know how to do enthusiasm.)

 Allison is moving to Victoria!

Allison, husband John, son Hudson, and baby-in-waiting McNeill, are moving from Calgary to the City of Gardens in late March next year.  She'll be joining her cousin, Bryan, and girlfriend, Megan, and Aunt Gwyn (that's me!) and Uncle Tom.  Hooray!!

We are sooooo excited!!

Gutsy Lady

My mother put her house up for sale this week.

This is the house that she and my dad bought in 1959 ... The house that they raised six kids in ... The house where we played scrub in the front yard, with the red maple as first base ... The house with the backyard fountain, skating rink, putting green, boat, gazebo ... The house where we built family pyramids ... The house that bursts at the seams when all six kids, twelve grandkids, two-and-a-half great-grandkids, and assorted spouses and partners get together ...

Good thing I'm not the sentimental type.

Travelling Road Show - 1974 to 1976

... except ... it was a No Pets Allowed building.  I got evicted.

So I did the only logical thing - hopped on the next plane back to Beloeil and left the two cats with Mum and Dad.  Spotty, as he came to be known, was the scourge of the neighbourhood, chasing away all other domesticated animals from my parents' yard, much to the delight of my father.  Dooley, on the other hand, was content to sit on her throne in front of the living room window, getting fatter and fatter every day.  They both lived long and, we think, happy lives.

From West 11th, I moved to Harwood Street in Vancouver's West End, just a couple of blocks from the beach at English Bay.  It was a great location.  My apartment was, again, a one-room bachelor, but when a vacancy arose in the same building, I moved to a one-bedroom apartment.  I remember packing up everything I owned, stacking it by the doorway, and going away for the weekend while some friends moved my stuff from the 6th floor to the 3rd floor.  Sadly, I don't remember who those friends were.  (If you're reading this, many thanks again, and profound apologies for forgetting you.)

I was still working at Northwood, but had moved from inventory control to the accounting department.  In the beginning I spent almost all day, every day, doing bank reconciliations.  I got very fast using a calculator.  One of my bosses encouraged me to become an accountant, so I started the RIA program (later CMA, and now CPA).

Harwood Street

Travelling Road Show - 1973

Charlotte and I left Gloucester Street and moved to the top two floors of a funky old house on Sherbourne.  (The landlord was purportedly the model for the pirate on the Captain Morgan's rum bottle.)  We shared the space with a couple of roommates.  Life got complicated.

In May of 1973, I left Toronto for Calgary where I was to meet up with a friend.  There were no insurance companies in Calgary, so I worked for RusselSteel in their pump and water well department, doing inventory control.  Widgets ... we're talking LOTS of widgets ...  (This short employment interlude in Calgary actually set me up, career-wise, for the rest of my life.) 

I moved into an apartment in an old house at the end of a cul-de-sac. 

Plans with my friend fell through, so I moved again, in November, to Vancouver.  Vancouver was green, wet, and full of hippies, just as I imagined it would be.  It was the 70's after all!

I moved into a rooming house on Alder Street while I looked for a job and a more permanent place to live.  The rooming house was an eye-opening experience - I had obviously led a very sheltered life before moving to Vancouver. 

Because of my experience with RusselSteel in Calgary, I got a job with Northwood Building Materials in their inventory control department.  I moved into a real apartment on West 11th.  It was a penthouse bachelor apartment, go figure - a single room, small kitchen and bathroom, on the top floor of a four-story apartment building.  A nice fit for me and my two cats ... except ...

Only the Sherbourne Street house remains.

Travelling Road Show - 1972

On a Friday in the late fall of 1971, my friend, Charlotte, and I called in sick to our respective jobs and hopped the train to Toronto.  Resumes in hand, we went to Canada Life on University Avenue.  A couple of hours later we came out with jobs.

I was leaving home.

We found a two bedroom apartment on the 11th floor of a high-rise on Gloucester Street, just off Yonge.  (If I remember correctly, the rent was $170 a month, and my new salary was $72.50 a week.)  For the first time I had a bedroom to myself, and shared a bathroom with only one other person.  What luxury! 

We scoured the newspaper for good deals on furniture, and even rescued a couch from someone's garbage pile.  We hung bed sheets for curtains.  Charlotte macraméd a screen between the kitchen and the dining room.  We let the dishes soak in the sink for days.

I remember getting a bad cold that winter, and desperately wanting my mother there to tell me I was going to be okay.

Toronto water made my skin itch.

Alexander Street - Beloeil QC

 

Gloucester Street - Toronto ON

Travelling road show

I am not a pack rat.  In fact, I have quite a reputation in the family for throwing things out.  I tend not to sentimentalize objects.  Except ...  Well, I must confess that I have all my income tax returns back to 1973.  (I can't believe I threw out 1969 - 1972!  Must have got lost in one of the moves ...)

Before you ROTFL, I should point out that these documents have significant historical value.  They record every place I've worked (except, sadly, for those four missing years), every place I've lived, and how my income increased over time.

Just the other day I dug them out of the storage locker and built a spreadsheet of my life.

In 1972 I left my family home in Beloeil QC.   Forty years (forty years!) later, I'm living in Victoria BC.  And the Canada Revenue Agency can tell me exactly how I got here.

Touchdown!

Fall brings out the kid in me. All those chestnuts, acorns and pine cones littering the sidewalk, just waiting to be kicked!

100% paper - Part 2

Lisbon got short shrift from us, sad to say.  The ship didn't dock until afternoon, leaving us with less time than we would have liked to explore.  And even though the ship was docked in Lisbon overnight, there was all that prep around disembarking that interfered with our enjoyment of the city.  However, we did find the greatest shop, full of hand painted pottery, all made locally.  Bought a small souvenir to go with our 'blue collection'. 

Oceania Cruises takes the prize for the best cruise ship disembarkation ever.  We left the ship in small groups and were directed to our luggage on the pier, where there were porters waiting to help.  After getting all the bags into the bus, we drove to the airport where we were met by Oceania reps who walked us to the check in counters for TAP Portugal.  What a zoo!  However, after checking in, boarding passes issued all the way to Victoria, that same rep walked us to Security.  It was such a relief not to have to find our own way around the airport. 

Things got a little more complicated after that.  Our flight left two plus hours late, arriving in Heathrow a half hour after our connection to Vancouver had left.  (I had read on TripAdvisor before we left that TAP Portugal had a poor on-time record, but I took the complaints with a grain of salt.  Right ... )  Once in Heathrow (that is one BIG airport) we were directed to the Flight Connections desk for TAP Portugal for re-booking.  Before that, though, there was Passport Control and Security (though I'm not quite sure why ...).  By the time we made it to the Flight Connections desk, to learn that we needed to pick up our bags, then proceed to the ticketing desk to pick up our tickets for the NEXT DAY, we were feeling a bit battered and bruised.  Poor Tom, managing his cane and lugging around the CPAP machine that was gaining pounds by the minute ...  So I went over the the Assistance desk, and got Tom into a wheelchair.

Things improved significantly after that.  The wheelchair assistant knew all the places we had to go, and the shortest distances to get there.  He took us to the baggage carousel, thought things were moving too slowly, so checked with the guy on duty.  He told us not to bother picking up the bags, just to get them re-tagged when we checked in in the morning.  He took us to Zone K where we picked up hotel, meal and bus vouchers from another TAP Portugal desk, then on to the right bus stop for the shuttle to the Novotel.  It was so nice just to follow him.

At the hotel we were reunited with two other Victoria couples and a family from Vancouver, all in the same situation.  Adversity really brings people together.  We had a few drinks, dinner, and got to know each other.  It was almost like a party.  We compared clothing and toiletry restrictions (you don't want to know).  We bought toothpaste and toothbrushes from the front desk (£1.50 each) and, thankfully, a UK to CA plug adapter so Tom could use his CPAP (£4.99).  And, there was free WIFI in the hotel, so I could post martini pix on Facebook, and get in touch with my brother who was arriving in Victoria to visit and was expecting to find us at home later in the day.

This morning, rested, showered and in the same clothes as the day before, we caught the bus to the airport, checked in - with Air Canada this time - renegotiated our seat selections, and were almost on our way, when the Air Canada rep noticed Tom's cane and directed us immediately to the Assistance desk again.  It was a 25 minute walk from check-in to our gate!  But we travelled in style, CPAP in the wheelchair luggage rack (really), past the line-ups to the front, through Security and via hidden passageways on to the golf cart which delivered us right to the gate.

Now, as for the paper hat - it was the subject of much discussion, whether to abandon it on the ship, or risk crushing it useless on the way back.  After just missing a cloud burst in Lisbon, we decided that it was charmed.  Happy to say that it further survived countless security checks and under seat storage on the planes.   Kind of like us!

Epicurious

So we're in this fancy Italian restaurant - reservations required - aboard ship.  Tom orders lasagna.  Tom LOVES lasagna.  After he's had a few bites, I ask, "How is it?" "Not as good as Rick's ..." Sigh ... Disappointed again.

Not in Kansas

I wonder if Tangier gets a bad rap.

All the literature the ship distributed warned us of disreputable vendors, cheating taxi drivers and not-so-helpful guides.  This fit in perfectly with our preconceptions of the place.  And then there were the plethora of adolescent boys on the walk into town who wanted to show us the Medina and the casbah ... for a fee (one of whom called me a "cheap tourist" when I waved him off).

As it turns out, we never made it past the city gates.  The sidewalks, when there were any, were pretty bad and, once inside the old city, it was uphill all the way, both awkward for Tom.  (Thanks, sweetie, for the excuse to stay inside my comfort zone.)

But you know, we had a nice chat - in fractured French - with one of the Harbour Police on his break who shared a bench with us, all about where we'd been and where we were going and where we were from.  And the fellows doing road construction all stopped to say 'bonjour' as we passed by.  And one of our fellow guests was telling us about the lovely and inexpensive tour they had taken with a local taxi driver. 

Wonder what the Moroccans say about Kansas ...

Ambassador training

I've been taking a lot of pictures of tourists this trip.  I don't mean that they're getting in the way of all my shots, though that is undoubtedly true.  I've been watching husbands taking pictures of wives, friends taking selfies, families leaving the photographer out of their memory shots.  The other day there were three men (who we swore were brothers, but they said, no - one from Spain, one from France and one from Greece) passing the camera around getting different combos of two of three.  So I've been going up to these picture-takers, and asking if they want me to take a picture of them together.  No familiar words are exchanged, just lots of gesturing.  Not one has ever said no.  They just pass over the camera, say thanks in whatever language works for them, and smile!

Cartagena

So much food, so little time!

We found another one of those chocolate shops, so we had to stop and check out that great-looking concoction the woman was eating the other day.  Turns out it's chocolate milk - but the richest, most amazing chocolate milk you've ever tasted - and churros - deep-fried dough,  kind of like unsweetened donuts, and HOT.  Mmmmm .... mmmmm.

Mid morning snack over, walk some more, then stop for beer and olives.   The olives seem so much richer-tasting over here.   Mmmmm .... mmmmm.

Here we go a wanderin'

Usually when we cruise, we take excursions to give us an overview of the places we visit. On this cruise, though, we've been taking the port shuttles into town instead.  Then, tourist map in hand, after marking where the shuttle bus stops, we start to walk.  We can count on finding three things: interesting side streets, a church, and a cafe. 

We find interesting side streets because there is actually no direct way to get anywhere.  No street grids here!  We turn into a street, walk to the corner, check the map, adjust our heading, repeat.  The buildings are beautiful, and I must have thousands of pictures already, just looking down the streetscapes.  Today we saw oranges and pomegranates (pomegranates!) growing in a garden outside an apartment building. 

We then stumbled upon a cafe and had iced coffee to cool down.  The cafe was part of a chocolate shop, and the woman at the table next to us had a cup of warm chocolate, kind of like fondue, into which she was dipping something that looked like cross between a bread stick and a donut.   I think Tom was hoping she'd offer him some!

Right next to the cafe was Plaza de la Reina where there was a .... cathedral!  And what a beauty!

One more interesting thing about Valencia:  They had a big flood in the 1950's when the river overflowed its banks, in some places 16 m deep.  To prevent this from happening again, they diverted the river around the city.  They contemplated turning the former river bed into a motorway, but instead turned it into a most beautiful sunken park, crossed every few blocks by bridges. (Hey, Winnipeg ....!)

100% paper

It is hot, hot, hot in La Palma de Mallorca.  I realized as we waited for the shuttle  bus to take us into town, that I should have worn my Tilley hat, hat-hair not withstanding.  We're talking really hot - drink-the-bottled-water-while-standing-in-line-waiting-for-the-shuttle-bus hot.  And, obviously, the locals know it: there was a street vendor waiting with a load of hats for us as we disembarked.  100% paper, only €10.  I bought one.

Goodbye Barcelona

Here we are, sitting on the verandah of our stateroom, watching the stir as the Marina prepares to leave Barcelona.  It's been a great couple of days.  Yesterday we took the Hop On Hop Off tour of the city, picking up the bus just a block away from our hotel on Av Diagonal (which my brain persists in seeing as Diagon Alley).  Saw some spectacular architecture, beautiful vistas, and learned much about the people of Catalonia.  We even saw some of Gaudi's work, though I must say that it's not really my cup of tea.  His buildings look quite creepy to me, and his sculptures, just incomprehensible.

Went back to Piscolabis for dinner, and had more ham and bread, plus their version of bravas.  I'm liking bravas a lot!  We also drank quite a lot of wine. We must have been there close to four hours - we considered the waiters part of the family by the time we left!  It's a real testament to the city that we felt so welcome.  After all, here we are in a foreign country, understanding neither the language nor the culture.  It  also takes a leap of faith on our part to open ourselves to the experience. 

We've been ordering food and wine not knowing what we're getting and, usually, not even knowing what it will cost. (The restaurant bills have so far been pleasant surprises.) We have been communicating mostly with gestures and English words of one syllable, and receiving similar replies.  We say gracias a lot.  (We don't know how to say sorry in Spanish. :-)) 

Goodbye, Barcelona.  It was very nice to meet you!    

Tapas

"You like ham?" the waiter asked.  "You like bread?"  And so we were introduced to two of the Catalan specialties at Piscolabis  last night.

We have, mostly, no idea what we're ordering to eat.  But, then, it's one of the things that makes travelling, well, adventurous!  In the hotel bar, the waiter's English was only marginally better than our non-existent Spanish, so we just ordered the first three items on the menu - bravas, grilled baby squids, and foie and mushroom croquettes.  We asked the waiter what "bravas" was, and he said "potatoes", "fried" , "spicy" and, I swear, "ice cubes".  We ordered them anyway.  When our cavas arrived with what looked like potato chips, we figured they must be the bravas, since they were both potatoes and fried, though not spicy at all, and we had clearly mis-heard the ice cube bit.  Seemed a bit steep to pay €7.50 for potato chips, but, when in Barcelona ....

The bravas, which subsequently arrived, were squares of potatoes (like ice cubes!), deep fried, with a dollop of sauce on top.  And, yummy.  And a staple on the tapas menu, apparently.

I've decided that learning a second language, at least the syntax, is over-rated anyway.  At Piscolabis we said "wine?", the waiter said "white/red?", we said "white", he said "sweet/dry?", and I pointed at Tom and said "sweet" and at myself and said "dry".  He gave us a big smile, tapped his head as if to say "Got it!", returned with two bottles of wine and proceeded to pour us each a glass.  Excellent choice!

We had deep-fried artichokes and deep-fried brie with the ham and bread.  Tom has decided that he can live on the ham and bread alone, they're so good. 

I'm liking this close-your-eyes-and-point method of menu selection.

The Glad Game

I re-read "Pollyanna" on the flight from Calgary to Toronto, courtesy of the GVPL's e-book lending program.

(Someone once called me a Pollyanna - not intended as an insult, he said.  I thought about it for a while, and decided he was right.  Thereby proving it ...?)

So, despite 13 hours of flying from Victoria to Barcelona, I am glad that:

-  the Mayor of Calgary flew (economy) with us to Toronto

- all our connections had enough wiggle room in them so that we didn't have to run like hell from one gate to another, even though both the Calgary and Toronto flights arrived late

- there were golf carts waiting and available to transport us from domestic arrivals to international departures - one end of the Toronto airport to the other

- the woman with three screaming kids on the flight from Calgary to Toronto sat in front of us, not behind

- the flight attendant on the flight to Barcelona whispered to us that the wine wasn't complimentary but, for us, it was on him

- Tom was fed before he died of starvation (see "wiggle room" - no time to eat between flights!)

- we're in Barcelona!

Parent Street

When I was five and six, we lived in an upper duplex on Parent Street in McMasterville.  I still have fragmented memories of that time. 

... a huge kitchen with an icebox, the ice arriving in a big block and lifted by a wicked-looking pair of tongs
... Dad playing the accordion
... punching the kid across the street in the nose and making it bleed
... the power going out at my sixth birthday party, on Friday the 13th
... flattening pennies on the train tracks at the end of the street
... learning from the kid next door that "Comment vous appelez-vous?" was actually pronounced "Cammatt stappell?"
... a balcony that stretched from one end of the apartment to the other.

This balcony figures prominently in my most vivid memory.  I had been reading Mary Poppins, and was quite impressed with her mode of travel, so I decided to try it for myself.  Though a curious and adventurous child, I was also a pragmatist.  Before risking life and limb, I first sent the umbrella over the balcony on its own.  Instead of drifting gently down, it tumbled end over end and smashed into the ground at the bottom.  Mary Poppins would get no competition from me.

The duplex is still there on Parent Street.  The insul-brick has been replaced by vinyl siding; the new balcony is a shadow of its former self.

Take a deep breath - Part 2

They've turned the community pool into a hockey rink.  The Pool was a favourite hangout when I was a teenager.  It was also the site of the first (and only) time I jumped off the high diving board.  It took me all summer to work up the courage to take the long climb up the ladder.  Once there, my courage quickly faltered but, with the drama of a teenaged girl, I decided that it was better to die at the bottom than suffer the humiliation of making all the kids behind me back down the ladder so I could change my mind.  Walk to the front of the board, pinch my nose, step off ... SPLAT!  OUCH! Down, down, down, DOWN! ... NO! I want to go UP!  ... up, up, up, GASP!  Breathe in ... SPLUTTER!  Dog paddle to the side of the pool.  Take a bow, just in case anyone is watching.  (I'm never doing that again!)

Take a deep breath

Walked to the store this morning to pick up some groceries for my mum, and was reminded again of the differences between city and suburban living.  The streets of Beloeil are empty - EMPTY!  No cars, no people, no sound of lawnmowers or children playing.  It's as if Beloeil exhales its life force at 6:00 am every day, holds its breath for twelve hours while Montreal plays, then inhales it back again at 6:00 pm. 

The FIFA Parable

Being a good member of a soccer team means following a few rules.  At church today, our priest said those same rules apply equally well to being a Christian.  I think they also apply to other religions / non-religions / political affiliations / etc as well.  Five small rules to live by:

1.  Be the best you can be.  Some days you'll be better than others.  Don't strive for perfection; it's an unattainable goal.  Strive to be the best YOU.

2.  Be respectful.  No taunting, making fun of differences.  Respect other people's way of doing things, even if they're not the same as yours.

3.  Play fair.  No cheating or fighting.  (Or shooting down of civilian aircraft.)

4.  Be proud of your uniform.  Don't be embarrassed because you believe in following the rules of the game.

5.  Have fun!

Works for me ...

Sweet dreams

I finally found The Perfect Pillow.

When I was a child, I don't remember fussing about my pillow at all.  (Maybe because it was perfect?)  But as an adult I have tossed and turned and plumped and squashed, but have never found a pillow that works the way I wanted it to.  I've bought pillows from bedding shops, department stores and box stores with no satisfaction.  And just the other day I finally figured out why:  I am not the side-sleeper I thought I was; I'm actually a stomach-sleeper.

So today I went to a bedding shop in Victoria to see if they could help.  They understood the problem immediately.  They gave me two pillows to try and a bed to try them on.  I tried both lying on my side - good - then both on my stomach - aaaahhhhh - one was PERFECT!  The pillow squished and folded and tucked under my neck, exactly the way I wanted it to. I could have gone to sleep right there in the store. 

Tonight I sleep on The Perfect Pillow.

Sweet dreams ....

Yukon/Alaska sampler

Just a few more pictures from our trip north ...

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Home

Spent Saturday watching beautiful BC scenery glide gently past the stateroom windows.  Arrived Vancouver 7 am today after passing under the Lions Gate Bridge and Stanley Park on our way to the Oosterdam's berth at Canada  Place.  Can you believe that the Captain turned the boat around in the Vancouver harbour and backed into our berth!  Nary a bump to be felt. 

Then bus to the ferry and Victoria downtown and home by 4 pm.  Suitcases are unpacked and a load of laundry is in the dryer. 

Will post a full set of pictures (in case you haven't already seen enough :-) ) later on this week (month?).

Ketchikan

I think it was the Captain who said that it rains 95% of the time in Ketchikan.  If that's the case, the weather as we arrived today was well within the statistical norm.  It was pouring down!  According to our city tour guide, Ketchikan gets an average of 14 feet of rain a year, too much to measure in inches. 

But wait, is that  blue sky we see, or just a "sucker hole", that small patch of clear sky that makes you believe the sunshine is coming, when really you're just about to get soaked?

Nope, it really was sunshine, and lots of it.  It made our visit so much more pleasant, and actually let us sit out on our balcony for the first time since we boarded the cruise ship.  There must have been some flight training going on in the harbour as we watched the float planes taking off and landing, over and over in front of us.  (Or it could have been the equivalent of  Victoria's James Bay neighbours, buzzing the cruise ships, telling them to "Go home!") :-)

Into Canadian waters tomorrow.  We cruise the Inside Passage as we make our way to Vancouver on Sunday morning.

Haines and Juneau

It has been a busy couple of days. 

Yesterday we were in Haines AK.  We took a "fast ferry" from there to Skagway, then boarded the White Pass & Yukon Railway, travelling the route used by the gold miners on their way to the Klondike.  From the train we could see the narrow path they followed before the railway was constructed - single file and loaded down with the supplies required by the Canadian government before they were allowed across the border.  We actually crossed into BC just past the White Pass Summit at 2,865 ft, before we returned to Skagway.

Today we're in Juneau, Alaska's capital, accessible only by boat or plane - there are no roads into the city.  We visited the Mendenhall Glacier, which is actually within the city limits!  It's worth the trip to Alaska to see a glacier this close.

More Glacier Bay

What a difference a few hours make!  The afternoon cleared up and we got some great views of the John Hopkins Glacier (as I understand it, the only advancing glacier), and the Lamplugh Glacier.  Most impressive!

Check out all the "bergy bits".  I love that expression so much, I've been using it all afternoon. :-)

Glacier Bay

Another cloudy, raining day, but it didn't unduly impact our glacier viewing.  Even saw a couple of grizzly bears!  Stayed about an hour at the Margerie Glacier.  Very impressive!

Monday, June 16

Seriously crappy weather today: cold wind, high seas, rain.  Nothing to see at all outside, and too cold to walk the deck, so we explored the ship from top to bottom.  Enjoyed a great lecture about the animals and fish in Alaska. 

FYI, there are five kinds of salmon caught here, and we learned to count them off on our fingers - Chum or Dog (thumb, feed to the dog), Sockeye or Red (first finger, best fish), King or Chinook (tallest finger, biggest fish), Coho or Silver (ring finger), Pink or Humpy (pinkie finger, feed to the cat).  As for bears, there are two kinds - black and brown (grizzly).  If confronted by a black bear, look big and talk softly.  With a grizzly, play dead, even after the bear has left the immediate vicinity.  Though there are no polar bears in Alaska, if confronted by one (to quote the lecturer), "Kiss your ass goodbye!"

Lost my $10 in the slots in about  5 minutes.  Lucky Jean won $75!

Scenic cruising in Glacier Bay tomorrow.  Hope the weather improves.

Oosterdam

Boarded Holland America's Oosterdam about 5:30 pm yesterday after a scenic four-hour train ride from Anchorage.  Through a series of last minute (paid) upgrade offers, we moved from a standard to a superior to a deluxe balcony stateroom.  Comes with a bottle of champagne, complimentary laundry service, and a private dining room for breakfast.  Well worth the money, we say!  

Most of our cruising to date has been on Princess, so it's quite disconcerting to not know where everything is located on the HAL ship.  We've been giving the map a good workout.  For a start, the Oosterdam is much smaller - about 1,900 passengers - so there's no big central piazza.  The single main dining room is a two-story affair, quite nice looking.  We'll be eating there tomorrow.  (Tonight is Formal Night, so we're taking a pass.)  The buffet area on the Lido deck is nice, and we even found table for two at lunch!  The theatre spans three decks, and is a combo theatre/lounge affair.  There are two pools, an indoor and an outdoor.  The weather has been a frosty 12C, so only the indoor pool is seeing any action.  I've also located the casino ...

We are currently sailing south from Anchorage and are scheduled to be in Glacier Bay tomorrow.  We've been promised spectacular scenery and more wildlife.  

The best of the land tour

Over dinner and a beer this evening, the Thompson/Tomlinson quartet identified our best experiences on the land portion of the tour.  They are:

FOOD AND DRINK

Best restaurant - Klondike Rib and Salmon, Whitehorse
Best bread pudding - Klondike Rib and Salmon, Whitehorse
Best ribs - again, Klondike Rib and Salmon, Whitehorse
Best beer - oatmeal stout at Glacier Brewhouse, Anchorage
Best martinis - the ones Steve made at the Westmark Hotel, Fairbanks
   Honourable mention - raspberry martinis at Klondike Kate's, Dawson

SERVICE

Best restaurant service - Mark at Glacier Brewhouse, Anchorage
Best bartender - Steve at the Westmark Hotel, Fairbanks
Best Journey Host - Peter Grady.  What an engaging young man!

TRANSPORTATION

Best plane service - Air North from Vancouver to Whitehorse (they feed you!)
Best transfer - TIE - by bus with Brayden from Whitehorse to Dawson, and the McKinley Explorer from Denali to Anchorage

ENTERTAINMENT

Best show - Frantic Follies,  Whitehorse

TOUR

Best tour - Tundra Wilderness Tour, Denali
   Honourable mention - Panning for gold, Fairbanks
Most unique place visited - Dawson
   Honourable mention - Denali National Park
Best presentation - Discovery III river boat, Fairbanks
   Honourable mention - Donna on the Anchorage Trolley Tour

ACCOMMODATION

Best hotel - no contest - the Fairmont YVR
   Honourable mention - Canyon Lodge, Denali

SOUVENIR

Best free souvenir - GOLD!
Best paid souvenir - a warm jacket for Jean in Denali

Mudslides, moose and mountains

Left Denali yesterday morning aboard the McKinley Explorer train on an 8-hour trip to Anchorage.  It was a very fancy domed car, with comfortable seats, a bar and a bartender upstairs, and a dining car below.  Had a nice lunch  (huge portions - we forgot to order to share) and a few drinks, and watched the landscape for more wildlife.  I got all excited at being the first to see a moose, though I wondered later if I had just mistaken a tree root ... :-)

We have been very impressed with the efficiency of Holland America on the land tour portion of this trip.  Every time we arrive in a new place, there is an envelope waiting for us, including our room keys, an itinerary for the time we're in that location, and very clear instructions on when to put our bags out and when to meet to leave.  Our group has been travelling together, separate from the other group on the same itinerary, with our very engaging Journey Host, Peter.

Looks as if we're in for  few more days of damp and overcast weather before the sun returns.

Denali National Park

Alaska lived up to its reputation today.  We spent a full day in Denali National Park in a blizzard!  However, we have no complaints.  We were able to see some spectacular scenery (after cleaning the mud off the bus windows) though Mt McKinley/Denali was invisible in the snow.  And I did close my eyes as the bus went around Soars-over-the Edge-like-an-Eagle Memorial Corner.  :-)   We were able to watch a 300 lb female grizzly bear forage on the side of the road and some Dall sheep graze on the tundra.  We also saw moose - two bulls, and a mother and calf - and caribou, as well as several Backpackus Americanus.  A great day.

It's cold in them thar hills

On the road again

So, here we are, enjoying a beer at the McKinley Chalet Resort in Denali, after a four hour drive from Fairbanks.  The road is in a constant state of repair during the summer months because of the heaving and potholes caused by the melting of the permafrost under the roadbed.  In an attempt to prevent this, the road crews are now putting down an insulating barrier between the permafrost and the road surface.  I'm hoping you can see this in the picture I took from the bus.   We're at the lodge now for the next three nights.  Tomorrow we take an all-day tour in the park.

Fairbanks

Had a busy day today.  Went to the Gold Dredge No 8 where we learned about dredging for gold, and actually had a chance to try panning for gold ourselves afterwards.  As a sop to the soft tourist, the water in the troughs was warm.  (Bet the prospectors wished they were so lucky.)  Tom and I actually panned the least amount of gold of all the folks on the bus - $6 worth - so we won the booby prize - a shot glass - because, according to our tour guide, Pete, we gave it our "best shot". 

(BTW, Pete is a mature 24 years old :-) )

Later we went on a paddle-wheeler on the Chena River.  Had a great intro to dog sledding courtesy of Dave Monson, widower of the famous Susan Butcher.  Susan won the Iditerod four times, before dying of leukemia in 2006.  Then we stopped at a recreation of an Athabaskan Indian village and had a chance to see how these nomadic tribes lived way back when. 

Also had a chance to experience -40F, the normal Alaskan winter temp.

Had dinner in the hotel bar again tonight.  Sadly, Steve was not there.  However, we can state, unequivocally, that the martinis are still pretty good.  (And so were the jokes :-) )

I am finding that this sun-never-setting thing is actually messing with my sleep patterns.  (I who never has trouble sleeping.)  I'm waking up several times in the night, thinking it's time to get up ...

Steve

First, I should let you know that Jean is our Designated Walker.  What follows should be read in that context.  This is a composite blog.  NOT MY FAULT!

Steve, our bartender/waiter/entertainer/bartender is a match for Tom - no small feat, says Jim.  Steve is a lawyer from California who helped out a friend bartending,  discovered he liked it better than lawyering, and moved to Alaska. 

Should just add that the bread pudding was fantastic, and the peanut butter pie wasn't half bad either, and Jim and I almost peed our pants we were laughing so hard. 

Land of the midnight sun

Woke up to another beautiful sunny day feeling rested and refreshed.  Rolled over to check the clock.  Twelve minutes after ... midnight!

Dawson City

What a lovely place this is!  Weather might take some getting used to, though, even in the summer -  30C this afternoon, 4C last night.  Folks build their houses above the ground on blocks so as not to melt the permafrost. 

Had a good familiarization tour this morning.  Saw the homes of Jack London and Pierre Burton, and was entertained with a biography and poetry readings at Robert Service's house.  Visited the site where gold was first discovered in the Yukon - Bonanza Creek - by George Cormack and his wife, Klondike Kate.  Went for a ride on the paddle-wheeler Klondike Spirit to the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers, and saw some very interesting summer rental accommodation.  :-) 

Off to Klondike Kate's tonight for dinner.