After a wait of 2 years, Ken and I are finally doing our Provence trip. I know quite a few are experiencing this as well, all due to a little thing called Covid. We were supposed to do the trip 2 years ago May, and at the point it got cancelled, we, like so many others thought, no problem, we will just go in the Fall. Looking back, none of us had a clue that 2 years later we would be just starting to get back to whatever normal is. Masks, while used pre-Covid in Asia, are now just part of our lives, Covid vax’s will most likely continue and hand-washing should be now at the forefront of everyone’s minds regardless of the virus. This will be our 5th Backroads trip and Provence has always been ... read more

Today is all about glaciers and icebergs and the entire ship is looking forward to more turquoise blue water, floating ice and hopefully some calving glaciers. The morning was spent at the In Williams Cove, at the beginning of Tracy Arm which has two very long and deep fjords with multiple glaciers. We woke to bright blue skies and surrounded by alien looking icebergs and of course Ken was all excited to “lick the iceberg”. Visions of the little kid in The Christmas Story were floating though my head, and I could just imagine getting the ever-present skiff to get him unstuck. Luckily, we had a safety briefing before getting in our kayak and the key instructions was to stay 2 kayak lengths away from the icebergs. They are known to tip over and if that ... read more

Today’s activities included the opportunity to snorkel in the crazy cold Alaska waters. And there were 8 brave souls, including myself that chose to do it. While I have snorkeled a lot in the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii and Belize, I have never done so in my backyard of the Pacific Northwest. The water is frigidly cold year- round, and the viewing is very dependent on the kelp and visibility distance. So, why not give it a shot here? We all got fitted for 14mm thick wetsuits, which were like a total body spanx. Just getting the first piece on was a massive undertaking and a great workout on its own. Two pieces for the body, booties, gloves and a head covering made for quite the vision, pretty much Michelin man-like. We all waddled to the skiff ... read more

Today we are in Crab Bay, surrounded by forests, beautiful snow-capped mountains and a peaceful inlet. For the morning activity, Ken decided on another bushwhack, while I chose the “bushwhack light” or as I came to call it, the Baby Bushwhack. The normal one was a 3-hour excursion through the brush, and I just wasn’t sure I wanted to thrash through the forest for that long. Prior to landing with our skiff on the shore, we saw two small deer, which are normal for this part. They were more the size of larger fawns, but Brady, our guide said the size helps them survive when there is little to eat in the winter. Once we landed our skiff, we explored mostly on shore and saw sea stars, lots of barnacles, mussels, little crabs and some other ... read more

Today ends an era, and begins a new one. Scary, exciting, energizing and one I am looking forward doing as a next chapter in my professional life. Effective today, I have retired from the Deloitte US Firm and on July 21, will be joining the Deloitte Ireland Firm. Building new teams, engaging new and old clients is one of my favorite things, and I will get to do that and more in my new role. However, in the interim, I am waiting on my Irish work visa and until I receive it, I can’t be in Ireland or my status will be affected. And due to the unusual times, the processing has been extremely slow so we are in the hurry up and wait mode, which has been going on for about 6 weeks. And, due ... read more