Small Town 4th
OK by Alaska standards Sitka isn’t a small town, but it can feel like it. As one friend wrote in a song, no one uses turn signals because everyone already knows where you are going. Skagway, Alaska is really a … Continue reading Small Town 4th
The Beautiful and Elegant… A Coda
We took our first long cruise 10 years ago. We had been on cruises before our kids were born back in the 70s. In the 90s, after Pop died, Suzi and I took Mom on a couple of cruises. But … Continue reading The Beautiful and Elegant… A Coda
July 2, 2025, Almost Independence Day, 249 Years Later.
On July 2, 1776, Richard Henry Lee moved a resolution, before the second Continental Congress, declaring independence for the 13 American colonies. John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail: The Second Day of July, 1776 will be the most memorable … Continue reading July 2, 2025, Almost Independence Day, 249 Years Later.
2025 Sitka (Summer) Music Festival Photo Gallery
Every June my hometown, Sitka, becomes alive with the arts. Both the Sitka Music Festival and Sitka Fine Arts camp bring people from all over the Country to our little town. We have performances and parties all month. This year … Continue reading 2025 Sitka (Summer) Music Festival Photo Gallery
Bathing Eagle
Walking through Sitka National Park today with Brian, we saw an eagle on a gravel bar in Kassada Heen (Indian River). As I zoomed in with my camera the eagle jumped into the river and started splashing and preening. It … Continue reading Bathing Eagle
Raven Radio Summer Solstice Cruise, 2025
On the longest day of the year we joined the Annual Raven Radio Summer Solstice Cruise on one of the Allen Marine Tours boats. Allen Marine supports non-profits in Sitka by donating their boats for fundraising cruises. According to Rob … Continue reading Raven Radio Summer Solstice Cruise, 2025
It Always Ends With the Milk Run
Saturday morning, I stepped onto the stateroom balcony for the last time and saw two huge ships as we docked in Fort Lauderdale, a Princess and a Disney. I didn’t get much sleep on Friday night. We were up packing … Continue reading It Always Ends With the Milk Run
Grannies’ Court of Honor
Back in the ‘90s after Pop died, we went on a couple of cruises with Mom. They had enjoyed cruising on Sagafjord and Vistafjord and we continued that tradition. On one cruise Mom got her Cunard 100 night pin. She … Continue reading Grannies’ Court of Honor
Duck Boat, Swan Boat. Boston.
I had only technically been in Boston before this trip. I’ve connected through the airport and changed trains at the station. That was it. I don’t know much about Boston past Revolutionary War History with three exceptions, the green monster, … Continue reading Duck Boat, Swan Boat. Boston.
Visiting Bud in Portland, Maine
I first met Bud Stiker in1998 at a European broadcasters’ meeting in Madrid. Bud helped invent commercial broadcasting in Eastern Europe at Juventus Radio in Budapest. He understood radio sales and the oddities of post-Communist Central Europe. I wanted him … Continue reading Visiting Bud in Portland, Maine
Two St. Johns in St. John’s
St John’s, the Capital of Newfoundland, has two cathedrals named for St. John the Baptist. One is a Catholic Cathedral that serves the city’s mostly Irish population, the other is an Anglican Cathedral. St. John’s has a large Irish population. … Continue reading Two St. Johns in St. John’s
Norse Not Vikings.
When most people think of the Norse ships from millennium ago they think of the Viking longship. But the backbone of Norse trade was the knarr, a freighter about 54 feet long. Knarr isn’t sleek, it’s broad and looks kind … Continue reading Norse Not Vikings.
Looking for the Norse and Finding Celts.
L’Anse Meadows, Newfoundland. The first tour I booked for this cruise was to L’Anse aux Meadows outside St. Anthony, Newfoundland. For years people speculated that the Norse had landed in and explored North America. It was written about in the … Continue reading Looking for the Norse and Finding Celts.
Carnival of The Animals
One of the beloved cruise traditions is animals made of towels and washcloths appearing on your bed, sofa, chair or hanging from a hanger every night. When I first encountered it it delighted me and still does. Since the pandemic … Continue reading Carnival of The Animals
I Didn’t Get Very Far in Halifax
Halifax has a lot to see and do but I didn’t do much of it, this time. Fortunately, we were there on vacation a few years ago. On that trip I got caught in probably the largest non-urban traffic jam … Continue reading I Didn’t Get Very Far in Halifax
A Geopolitical Anomaly, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
Saint-Pierre et Miquelon are an island group at the southern end of Newfoundland. They are a remnant of a French North American empire that included much of Newfoundland, Quebec, the Canadian Maritimes (then called Acadia), The Great Lakes (what is … Continue reading A Geopolitical Anomaly, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
The End is Neigh.
We have a week left on this cruise and things started wrapping up a week ago. A week ago, we got a letter from Holland to choose a disembarkation time and pick up corresponding luggage tags, two weeks before the … Continue reading The End is Neigh.
Iceberg Alley
…Become Ocean! John Luther Adams, a composer who lived in Alaska most of his composing life, wrote a symphonic tone poem “Become Ocean” for the Seattle Symphony. It is about the melting glaciers in Alaska and the icecap in Greenland … Continue reading Iceberg Alley
No “U”after “Q” ?, Qaqortoq
I love it when I can correct my first grade teacher, Mrs. King, even if it is almost three quarters of a century later. There ARE “Qs” not followed by “Us”. As in Qaqortoq, a city in Greenland. Mrs. King, … Continue reading No “U”after “Q” ?, Qaqortoq
The Mother of All Parliaments. Þingvellir, Iceland
When Suzi and I first visited Iceland more than half a century ago there were no trees. It was heathland. Not barren, just treeless. Icelanders told us that in the 9th century, when settlers first arrived, the island had about … Continue reading The Mother of All Parliaments. Þingvellir, Iceland
It Don’t Come Easy, Paamiut, Greenland
We made it to Paamuit, Greenland, but in Ringo’s words, “It don’t come easy.” In past posts you got the story of our encounters with ice, hurricane force winds and 23 foot seas, our cancelation of one port and reordering … Continue reading It Don’t Come Easy, Paamiut, Greenland
Bubble, Bubble…
…toil and trouble. Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble. Hveragerdi Village has been an exurb of Reykjavik since the late 1920s. It’s close to thermal springs and it became home for people who did not need to go into the capital … Continue reading Bubble, Bubble…
Course Correction
Last night all the elevators homed in on the lower promenade deck, deck three. They do that when the ship lists more than 5 degrees. Then Captain Paul Adams came on the PA system. We were watching the film “Wicked,” … Continue reading Course Correction
Swimming in Power Plant Effluent…
…and drinking Krap. Okey, most people call it the swimming in the Blue Lagoon but it reality they are swimming in the wastewater from a power plant. And Krap? That’s the name of Iceland’s favorite blueberry slushy sold at the … Continue reading Swimming in Power Plant Effluent…