Our girl Violet!
10 years ago
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Let the Cropping begin!!
Yeah .... today Susie dropped off my Creative Memories order so now I can begin working on my Alaska Trip album ..... and I really thought I would do some house cleaning this week .... ha ha ha .... will save that for the weekend!!
Speaking of our Alaska Trip ..... We are a cruising couple and we usually have our next adventure planned before we are done with the first one. We have wanted to take an Alaskan Cruise after hearing so many people talk about how beautiful Alaska is. After mentioning it to a few of our friends we were able to gather up 4 other couples and set sail to Alaska.
Along with another couple we drove from Redding to Seattle, WA, caught a Motorcoach into Vancouver, BC and set sail on the Coral Princess for 7 days of cruising and sight seeing.
Our first port of call was Ketichican, known for being the Fish Capital and that is exactly what was it was. While we were in port the Salmon were running and I have never seen so many fish in one spot at one time .... you could have walked across the creek beds on the backs of the Salmon.
We even took a walk around town and found the trail (Married Man's Trail) that heads to Miss Dollies home (the local hangout for the men back in the day!!)
Our second port of call was Juneau - we did some sight seeing around the town and took a tour of the State Capitol. Of course Sarah Palin was out on the campaign trail so was unable to meet her but was able to pick up a card with her Autograph on it and not a stamped signature but her actual signature. This was the second of three autographs I was able to obtain while on this cruise.
Our third and final port of call was Skagway. This was my favorite town. Very old fashioned with wooden walkways around town. We took a Streetcar tour of the town and was able to get lots of local history. Skagway is known for the White Pass Trail train which goes into the Yukon Territory and gives the history of the Gold Rush days of Alaska. One thing I found quite interesting is due to no hospital and lack of medical personel all pregant women must leave the area 3 weeks prior to their due date. Rosie (our guide) asked us where they went? We didn't know .... she didn't either as long as they were not in Skagway!! :-).
We journeyed on for another couple days at sea with sightseeing into Glacier Bay and College Fjord which had some marvelous Glaciers. Probably the best way to describe the beauty is they are the color of Windex.
Once we were done with our Cruiseing journey we hopped aboard the Alaskan Railroad for our 4 day stay in the Denali Park Wilderness area which was lots of sightseeing from Bears to Caribou and even the state Bird which looks like a chicken with furry white feet! We were lucky enough to go into the park on a day when it was clear enough for us to see Mt. McKinley which is not often done during early September. Wasn't as clear as seeing Mt. Shasta but it was clear enough to be able to get some nice photos.
The trip was well worth the 14 days we were gone and my suggestion for anyone who wants to take the cruise and train trip all together ..... do the train trip first! It was very enjoyable but not very relaxing - lots of go go going so you can see the sights.
As I said before we have our next trip planned before we are done with our first one .....next cruise ...... 2010 to the Panama Canal! Want to come?
Speaking of our Alaska Trip ..... We are a cruising couple and we usually have our next adventure planned before we are done with the first one. We have wanted to take an Alaskan Cruise after hearing so many people talk about how beautiful Alaska is. After mentioning it to a few of our friends we were able to gather up 4 other couples and set sail to Alaska.
Along with another couple we drove from Redding to Seattle, WA, caught a Motorcoach into Vancouver, BC and set sail on the Coral Princess for 7 days of cruising and sight seeing.
Our first port of call was Ketichican, known for being the Fish Capital and that is exactly what was it was. While we were in port the Salmon were running and I have never seen so many fish in one spot at one time .... you could have walked across the creek beds on the backs of the Salmon.
We even took a walk around town and found the trail (Married Man's Trail) that heads to Miss Dollies home (the local hangout for the men back in the day!!)
Our second port of call was Juneau - we did some sight seeing around the town and took a tour of the State Capitol. Of course Sarah Palin was out on the campaign trail so was unable to meet her but was able to pick up a card with her Autograph on it and not a stamped signature but her actual signature. This was the second of three autographs I was able to obtain while on this cruise.
Our third and final port of call was Skagway. This was my favorite town. Very old fashioned with wooden walkways around town. We took a Streetcar tour of the town and was able to get lots of local history. Skagway is known for the White Pass Trail train which goes into the Yukon Territory and gives the history of the Gold Rush days of Alaska. One thing I found quite interesting is due to no hospital and lack of medical personel all pregant women must leave the area 3 weeks prior to their due date. Rosie (our guide) asked us where they went? We didn't know .... she didn't either as long as they were not in Skagway!! :-).
We journeyed on for another couple days at sea with sightseeing into Glacier Bay and College Fjord which had some marvelous Glaciers. Probably the best way to describe the beauty is they are the color of Windex.
Once we were done with our Cruiseing journey we hopped aboard the Alaskan Railroad for our 4 day stay in the Denali Park Wilderness area which was lots of sightseeing from Bears to Caribou and even the state Bird which looks like a chicken with furry white feet! We were lucky enough to go into the park on a day when it was clear enough for us to see Mt. McKinley which is not often done during early September. Wasn't as clear as seeing Mt. Shasta but it was clear enough to be able to get some nice photos.
The trip was well worth the 14 days we were gone and my suggestion for anyone who wants to take the cruise and train trip all together ..... do the train trip first! It was very enjoyable but not very relaxing - lots of go go going so you can see the sights.
As I said before we have our next trip planned before we are done with our first one .....next cruise ...... 2010 to the Panama Canal! Want to come?
Where have the years gone?
Yesterday we celebrated Stephanie turning 20 - I can't believe it .... my little girl enters a new decade. We had a pretty uneventful day .... made waffles for breakfast and then we had a family BBQ which included Heather, Lexi & Taylor, Jordan (the boyfriend) as well as his brother Jayme and his girlfriend Ashley. Made Steph's favorite .... BBQed Tri-Tip with "real" mashed potatoes, broccili and salad. Heather - our new cake decorator - made an AWESOME looking BATMAN cake ... for those of you who don't know Stephanie is obsessed with Batman and has been for a number of years .... she was very excited to open the gift of 2 New Tires for her car .... for a girl with no job that is worth celebating for her ..... one less thing she has to figure out how to pay for!! Maybe she will get her registration paid for Christmas LOL!!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Getting ready for the big day .......
..... No not a wedding or anything that big!!
As I anxiously await the arrival of my 1,014 Alaska Photos I have been trying to get things ready so when they do arrive I can begin Scrapbooking our trip. Last night I sat down with my bag full of treasures I picked up on our trip. You know the brochures you get in every port .... all the brochures they give you on the ship and train ..... and of course any other collectable/scrapbookable item I could find I put in a bag to bring home and I organized them. I just happened to have a plastic folder of sorts that I had picked up somewhere and probably used as a papersorter at one time for my scrapbooking paper and it happens to have 13 pockets. I went through all my treasures and put them in a pocket according to the day on our trip. We just happen to be gone for 13 days so it worked out well. So bascially anything I picked up in each port such as Skagway it is in day/pocket 5 so when I do my Skagway pictures I have all my Skagway treasures sorted and ready to go. Hoping this will spead up the process ..... only my fellow scrapbookers have any idea how helpful this will be!!! and have any idea how long it will take to put a 2 week trip together using a lot of photos.
Next item on the agenda ........ get some journaling boxes complete and ready with some of the local history for each port and other special facts I want include in my album!!!
As I anxiously await the arrival of my 1,014 Alaska Photos I have been trying to get things ready so when they do arrive I can begin Scrapbooking our trip. Last night I sat down with my bag full of treasures I picked up on our trip. You know the brochures you get in every port .... all the brochures they give you on the ship and train ..... and of course any other collectable/scrapbookable item I could find I put in a bag to bring home and I organized them. I just happened to have a plastic folder of sorts that I had picked up somewhere and probably used as a papersorter at one time for my scrapbooking paper and it happens to have 13 pockets. I went through all my treasures and put them in a pocket according to the day on our trip. We just happen to be gone for 13 days so it worked out well. So bascially anything I picked up in each port such as Skagway it is in day/pocket 5 so when I do my Skagway pictures I have all my Skagway treasures sorted and ready to go. Hoping this will spead up the process ..... only my fellow scrapbookers have any idea how helpful this will be!!! and have any idea how long it will take to put a 2 week trip together using a lot of photos.
Next item on the agenda ........ get some journaling boxes complete and ready with some of the local history for each port and other special facts I want include in my album!!!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Another End to the Season
Well another year of camping/RV'ing at the R-Ranch has come to a close. Last Friday we pulled our trailer home for the end of the season. We said our Good-Byes to our friends that we only see from May to Oct. This past summer was another fun season at the R-Ranch with lots of happy memories. Fishing - BBQing - and just socializing!!
In July I was voted by owners to become part of the Board of Directors of the R-Ranch .... WOW what an adventure in itself that is .... it's amazing the behind the scene stuff that most owners have no clue is going on and this past year has been a disturbing year, no less, due to a number of lawsuits by a select few .... the sad thing is the money it is costing us owners that could be better spent improving the ranch for more fun and enjoyment but enough about the boring stuff!!
Going to the R-Ranch has produced more friends than we could ever imagine - some we see year around and stay in touch with on a monthly basis and some we only see duri
ng the "season". Fishing this year was fun - yep - after 22 years of marriage William was able to talk me into fishing last year and now I look forward to going fishing with him whenever I can. It's been a great time for us to spend together and I am sure he is thrilled that I have taken up one of his favorite hobbies. He even bought me my own poles - even a pink one that lights up!! William and I both caught these salmon this year. He gets credit for the 3 ft - 15 lb one pictured here.
In July I was voted by owners to become part of the Board of Directors of the R-Ranch .... WOW what an adventure in itself that is .... it's amazing the behind the scene stuff that most owners have no clue is going on and this past year has been a disturbing year, no less, due to a number of lawsuits by a select few .... the sad thing is the money it is costing us owners that could be better spent improving the ranch for more fun and enjoyment but enough about the boring stuff!!
Going to the R-Ranch has produced more friends than we could ever imagine - some we see year around and stay in touch with on a monthly basis and some we only see duri
ng the "season". Fishing this year was fun - yep - after 22 years of marriage William was able to talk me into fishing last year and now I look forward to going fishing with him whenever I can. It's been a great time for us to spend together and I am sure he is thrilled that I have taken up one of his favorite hobbies. He even bought me my own poles - even a pink one that lights up!! William and I both caught these salmon this year. He gets credit for the 3 ft - 15 lb one pictured here.Thursday, October 16, 2008
what now????......
Well - look what I have got myself into now .... a site where I can post thoughts, feelings, adventures, and stories of my family. Not only will all of you get to know me and my family and our great adventures, but I will also be able to get to know you better and read all about your families and great adventures. What a fun activity I am looking forward to ..... who knows maybe I will even be able to get my family and friends to join me!
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