Alan headed to the Observation Lounge at 7 this morning to make sure that we had ringside seats for [url=http://myitchytravelfeet.com/2009/09/09/cruising-vancouver-to-singapore-regent-seven-seas-mariner/] Mariner's cruise up Tracy Arm, one of Alaska’s scenic fjords. I met him about thirty minutes later for our coffee with a view. As the ship sailed beside the sheer granite cliffs of the narrow fjord, lecturer, Terry Breen, provided the commentary. But, environmental regulations applying to Tracy Arm meant that her remarks could not be broadcast on the outside decks of the ship. [View Full Entry]

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As I predicted, I slept through our port visit at Ketchikan. Actually I didn’t SLEEP through it; I just stayed in bed. Docking in port and numerous announcements over the P.A. made sure that I wasn’t going to sleep. Back at sea, I woke up just before sunrise and saw partly cloudy skies. I dressed quickly and ran out on deck to get a few sunrise photos and then went to the cafeteria for some really good biscuits and gravy. Late morning we arrived in Wrangell, a very small Alaskan town that, like many others, cannot be reached by road. You [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday we went to Juneau. It was a cold rainy day, but we all took in some great sights. Kay & I took the tram to the top of Mt. Roberts & then hiked the Alpine Loop at the top of the mountain. What a view. In the visitor center, there was a lady selling cookbooks commemorating the 50th anniversary of statehood for Alaska. It is hard to believe but I can still remember when there were only 48 states! We then went back down the tram & had lunch in town at the Red Dog Saloon. Good food & an [View Full Entry]

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So, although this blog is a little late and I am not technically even in the U.S. anymore (being saved for my next blog entry), I wanted to update a little on some of my most recent adventures that I took before leaving Alaska. Well, my summer job was awesome in the sense that along with getting to take the occasional Helicopter rides, we could also COMP tours with our fellow tourist companies. The first comp took place with my coworker, Matt, where one day, we took to the seas. Okay, rather we parked my car and hopped on a bus [View Full Entry]

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ON LAST WEEK'S EPISODE: When we last left our protagonist, Andrew had just been recouperating from a several day trek cross country by Greyhound. Where, as it so happened, he lost nearly every item he'd accumulated on his epic quest for the freedom of mankind. Or some such.... The times were tough in the subsequent days, weeks, and DARE I SAY MONTHS? It had been go go go, "let's figure out how to do A B AND C" and chock full of glorious wonderment. Now when one of Andrew's sheer fidgetiness comes off of that kind of experience, you can sincerely [View Full Entry]

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Katie's uncle Don has been a bear ranger on an island off the coast of Juneau Alaska. We finally had a chance to go up and check it all out. Juneau is a beautiful state capital of about 30,000 people, surrounded by steep, steep mountains, and salt water of the Gastineau channel. We for camped out at the Mendenhall campground for several days and did several hikes in the mountains around Juneau, exploring the peaks and glaciers there. Camping in the rain every night was very different from the dry, California weather we had been used to, but it was still [View Full Entry]

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A little over a week ago, my work buddy, Robert, and I took to the trail and spent a few hours on our day off enjoying the silence that comes with a walk in the woods. Of course, being the curious person that I am, I didn't really stop talking for most of the walk (and neither did he) but I was constantly asking what plant is this? what tree is that? And so on and so on... Luckily, my travel companion is an avid hiker and pointed out some awesome things as we headed up the Lemon Creek trail behind [View Full Entry]

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About 8 days ago, I did something I have not done since I've been here in Juneau -- I rode the Mount Roberts Tramway. To some, this is considered a horrible thing to do because it is supposively much better to hike up this gorgeous mountain. But given the fact that I am deathly afraid of bears and all of my time is consumed with working, I took the easy route and joined my roommie and her family on the Tram. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it doesn't go up as fast as it appears from the ground and [View Full Entry]

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What better way to spend a few days off from work than packing up a cooler, rolling down the windows, and spending the day in the sun with your best friends? For a fish fanatic like myself, those couple of days were heaven. The first one started off with just Mel and I...two very tired girls...heading out the road on our day off. And as we sat upon the rocks, losing a LOT of lures as we kept getting snagged, we were visited by a small sea otter, a lot of birds, and one curious sea lion. We ended up catching [View Full Entry]

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Today is the last day of classes here at UAS in Juneau, Alaska. In a few hours, hundreds of dormant college students will flock to the courtyard for their free food as classes wrap up, stress week ends, and everyone braces themselves for the hectic weekend ahead as finals week approaches. It's crazy how fast this semester has gone by. It was just gone in a flash although perhaps it is because I have been kept so busy that it seems like it went by so fast. When you focus on one major test or project or really just one class [View Full Entry]

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