Life on the High Plains

We're back from yet another trip.  This time it was to Great Britain--London and Edinburgh which was a graduation gift to our grandson. We loaded into the plane on a Friday evening and made the nine hour non-stop flight to London.  There's no sleeping on airplanes, for me anyway, so when we arrived in London at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday we were a little tired. We had arranged accommodations in a flat near Camden Town.  The owner had sent specific instructions on how to find it.  First step was to find the Piccadilly Line of the Underground.  London has a great public transportation system.  It took us a little while to reacquaint ourselves with it, but then we took it all over the city. The owner greeted us personally at the flat and made us feel very welcome.  We stayed in a neighborhood that had a very mixed ethnicity, cultures, and religions.  We heard languages from all over.  It made me happy to be in a place where diffe...

The final port we visited was Ketchikan, Alaska.  This is the one place that we had pre-booked an excursion through Holland America.  During our first visit to Alaska years ago Irv caught a 48 lb. King or Chinook Salmon.  We of course wanted to repeat that feat because we enjoyed that salmon for a very long time. We learned right off the bat that we weren't going to get any Kings this year.  The King fishing season had ended the day before, but we were still hoping for some Pinks or Silvers.  We soon discovered that we had a very grumpy boat captain.  His name was Ivan and he didn't hesitate to yell at each of us for doing something wrong.  I think a Fishing 101 introduction would have been useful for those of us who aren't fisher people.  Honestly, his grumpiness made the excursion a little un-enjoyable. Things started off quite well.  The salmon were coming in quickly, but then.... things slowed down and it was a...

By far my favorite day on the cruise was the day we spent in Glacier Bay National Park.  Only two cruise ships per day are allowed in the bay so it was quiet and relaxing. We decided to splurge and purchase a cabana for the day.  Our kids had given us shipboard credit for Christmas and this is how we decided to spend it. Being able to spend the day outside in the fresh air was amazing. I will admit that it was a little chilly, but the cabana came stocked with blankets and towels in addition to a butler and an open bar for the day. The Park Service boarded four rangers for the day.  We had an opportunity to speak with one of them.  She was a seasonal ranger who spends about three months up there.   Hmmm....maybe a possibility for future years.  These rangers have to climb a rope ladder from their boat onto the ship--that might not be the job for me. A little relaxing in between meals.   My photos do...