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Signed, Sealed and Delivered.

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We signed up for this wondrous world journey nearly three years ago.  Our love has been sealed even tighter through our amazing adventures we have shared during these past five months.  And we will soon be delivered home... Our voyage has traversed more than 36,000 nautical miles, 5 continents and 125 countries.  After 130 blogs, 10 pounds and 146 days wondering where I am in this world, I will be ready to sit on our back porch and listen to Kyle David Watts' song, In My Backyard. First of all, I want to thank you for reading my blog.  It meant a great deal to me to know that I have had readers share our sojourn and inspired me to keep spending time in quiet contemplation and reflection (and looking for just the right travel quotes and love songs).  Thank you for your comments which were important to me and made the blog more interesting.  I hope you enjoyed it!  I sure did! Our family has been mentioned and anyone who has followed knows we love and ch...
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Oh Canada!

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 View from our cruise ship in Victoria, British Columbia.  Victoria is the capital of BC and is known as the "Garden City".   We walked only five miles today spending our time in the city.  There were gardens and trees everywhere.  Victoria is so clean and green - the best way to describe it is pristine.   Built in 1909, The Empress is the iconic hotel that is shown in nearly every description of Victoria.  We walked by it several times today as it sits near the harbor.  It was 60 degrees and the sun shined all day making this city sparkle.  The locals were mostly dressed in tee shirts, shorts and sandals while we wore long sleeve shirts with a jacket.  Our lunch stop was Finn's Seafood.  We walked to Cook Street Village for coffee and muffins which were good along with a good walk through residential neighborhoods but the village was a bit of a disappointment.  Munro's Bookstore was a highlight.  The building wa...
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Vancouver, British Columbia

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                                                            Vancouver from an overlook in Stanley Park. Ten miles of walking occupied much of our time yesterday.  We hiked five miles in Stanley Park, which consists of half a million trees with some reaching a height of 250 feet and hundreds of years old.  The red cedar and Douglas fir trees were enormous and wild flowers were blooming.  Rain fell on us for a couple of hours but had stopped by the time we paused in front of this rhododendron bush.  While Stanley Park is wildly maintained, the entrance is manicured with a variety of flora.                                                    ...
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Closer To Home

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Our voyage began in Miami, Florida This week, I've been dreaming about our adult children, Marji and Justin, as children and our dog, Shannon, in our previous home.  I've also dreamt about our children, grand children, Grace and Caroline. and cat, Chef, in our current home.  I know their spouses are in there somewhere. Last night, we enjoyed dining with two New York City attorneys, Mary and Mellard.  Mary works for the prosecutor's office specializing in political fraud, bribes, etc.  She is fearful she might not have a job when she returns home?!?!😬 Today was our roughest sea day. so we spent most of the day in the supine position.  We felt like drunken sailors when we tried to walk.  I even did the Smitty Shuffle once. Once we reached the Inside Passage of Alaska, the seas settled and I attended a beer tasting.  Featured, were beers from China, Japan, Australia, Alaska and Fiji.  The more I drank the better they tasted so I'd say the last one w...
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Goodbye Alaska

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                                                                      Monumental mountains are towering over us wherever we go in this state with a population of less than a million.  Alaska is bigger than California, Texas and Montana combined.  The scenery is breathtaking everyday, even in the rain showers again today.  Five eagles gracefully floated by during our walk to and from Cemetery Island.  This is the view before we entered the Cemetery Island Trail.  Many Tlingit people are buried on this island.                                                               ...
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Showers in Sitka

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 Hiking was our plan today in Sitka, Alaska.  After raining last night and this morning the more challenging trails were too muddy.  Sitka is a fishing town with a population of eight thousand people who clearly recognize the native Tlingits who lived here for thousands of years prior to Russian settlement.  Sitka is quaint and can get overrun with cruise ship passengers from the much larger ships.  As a matter of fact, their voting precinct was open today to decide if the community will limit the size of ship they allow to dock at their cruise terminal.  Sitka National Historical National Park honors the Tlingits with twenty totem poles throughout the park.  We were able to hike through this rain forest along its scenic coastal trail between rain showers. Beak Restaurant, a gratuity free cafe, was our lunch stop today.  We are shown here with Chef Renee Trafton who was a 2023 James Beard Award finalist.  Local salmon and spot shrimp were our...
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Hubbard Glacier, Alaska

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 Hubbard Glacier is 76 miles long and 6 miles wide where it meets the water.  It is one of the few glaciers in the world that is gaining mass rather than melting at a rapid rate.  If you enlarge the photograph, you will see a large 2400 passenger cruise ship in the lower right corner.  This ship is four times the capacity of our ship and gives perspective to the massive height and width of Hubbard Glacier. The magnificent mountains of Alaska are glorious with the clean water and crisp fresh air offering a new beginning to each day.  As Kristin Hannah wrote in The Great Alone, "Alaska isn't about who you were when you headed this way.  It's about who you become." Dead end is where I was headed when a girl saved me.  I was enrolled in the College of Music at Ohio State when I decided to quit school and go on the road with a rock n roll band at the age of nineteen.  Our band owned a school bus converted to a Fun Bus with bunk beds, a table and room t...
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Awesome Alaska

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                                                                        Portage Glacier behind Ruth Ann.                                                                                      We hiked from sea level to nearly 1000 feet elevation to reach Portage Pass.      Trailhead where we began our ascent to the snow covered mountain at the top of the photograph.                                            ...
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Kodiak Island, Alaska

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                                                                 Fort Abercrombie State Park, Alaska Trekking poles were finally rendered into service again in North America after laying dormant since South America.  We visited Alaska in 1993 when Marji was 12 years of age and Justin was almost 3 years old riding in a backpack as I hauled him over trails and around towns in The Great Alone.  As soon as we climbed to this viewpoint today, we were reminded of the majestic natural beauty of this wild and wonderful frontier.  Our hearts have been aching for home but feel much better after our rugged hike today. The allure of the clean waters, fresh air and snow covered mountains came rushing back to our memory with every step of our boots over this the moss covered rain forest along t...
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