The hot days of summer

The summer season is winding down and the north pole of the earth is tilting farther away from the sun. However, the weather in S.C. is still hot like it is the middle of summer. Here is a picture of Ashlyn which reminds me that cooler temperatures should be on their way.

40th Birthday

Today I celebrate my 40th birthday. It is hard to believe that I am 40. In many ways, I still feel like a kid with so much to learn and so much to do.

Typically, people see forty years old as the beginning of middle age. Some people see forty as a time when one feels a sense of loss, the loss of being young with a fear of becoming old. As for me, I see this as the beginning of a wonderful time, a time of celebration of gain and a time to look back on past accomplishments and forward to those things which I hope to accomplish.

I am going to do something different today on my birthday. I will give my wife and kids each a gift. That should be fun.

Dana put a large picture of me in the local newspaper with the caption - "lordy, lordy look who is forty." That was cool.

White Water Rafting

Ashlyn, Justin and I went white water rafting on Saturday. We rafted down the Nantahala River. We experienced mostly class I and II rapids with one class III rapid at the end of the day. After 3 1/2 hours of rafting, we stopped by the side of the river, ate a picnic lunch and took a picture. It was a lot of fun.

Vacation Day 10 - The Journey Home

We sailed at sea during the last day of our trip. Eric & I enjoyed walking around the deck since the weather was warmer, but the kids decided to wrestle in the cabin.

Julia said goodbye to a friend she met over the week.

Then later, Ashlyn & Julia confiscated my camera.

Our trip was the vacation of a lifetime, and we're ready to go back. Next time, we'll probably skip the expense of the cruise and fly directly to Alaska!

Vacation Day 9 - Canada

It wouldn't be considered a trip to Canada without a picture of the mounties! The kids seemed more excited to get a stamp in their passport book, though. This last port of call was a small town called Prince Rupert. The Canadians were really nice. All their signs & instructions were written in both English & French, but none actually spoke French in this town.

Once through border patrol, Julia enjoyed the cool weather playing in their memorial park. Eric sat on the bench to keep watch while the two older kids had fun chasing each other around saying "eh?" at the end of each sentence. You can see our cruise ship in the background.

Although we visited 3 cities in Alaska, it was here in Canada where I spotted our national symbol, the bald eagle. It's head is the white speck in the middle of the tree. They are gorgeous, majestic birds, and bigger than I expected!

Vacation Day 8 - Icebergs & Glaciers

As we pulled away from Skagway, we sailed into bays and fjords that were full of glaciers and icebergs. For some reason I expected them to be white, but they are actually a light blue color resulting from thousands of years of compression.

We started seeing icebergs floating in the water, and later, right up to the boat. They were small, but I kept thinking of the Titanic at this point. The weather was definitely cold, and we were glad we purchased some ear muffs, heavy coats, and ski hats in Juneau so we could enjoy the sights on deck.

As we approached this next glacier, the ship actually made it through the narrow passage and came within 20 feet of the ice breaking off into the cove. I wasn't sure how the ship was going to turn around, but somehow it did and we came right back out.

Here, the mountains are just a few yards away on each side of the ship as we exited that narrow passage. This picture was taken from the top deck of the ship from the pools and water slides. The view was amazing! And yes, if you look closely you can see people in the hot tub. Crazy!

On the way out of the bay, I saw several seals basking on the icebergs.

Vacation Day 7 - Skagway, Alaska

In Skagway, we splurged on our one and only excursion - the White Pass Railway. This was built during the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890's and took us into Canadian territory up over

the mountains.

This is a great picture showing the fjord carved out by glaciers. The town of Skagway is at the water's edge, with our cruise ship in the harbor. Here, all groceries are either flown in or delivered by cargo ship, and most purchase groceries in bulk on-line from places like Costco. A gallon of milk costs $6 and usually expires in 1-2 days. It's not uncommon for people to fight over milk with a 5-7 day expiration date, since it's rare.

The rail cars are nicely heated, but we occasionally stepped out to breathe the crisp, cold air and take a few pictures. Of the 100,000 gold rushers that started on the journey, only half actually reached their destination, only a few thousand actually found gold, and only about a hundred actually struck it rich. Nordstrom was one that struck it rich, and he used the gold money to invest in a shoe store back home (you know the rest of that story).

Once at the peak of this mountain pass, the terrain was very different. The lush green fir trees were gone and replaced by sparse vegetation, including a rare white moss that is only found in very clean environments. This moss is extremely fragile, and has a unique ability to break down the granite rock, allowing other vegetation to survive.

Vacation Day 6 - Juneau, Alaska

Temperatures were cooler in Juneau, and our jackets came in handy. The air was so cool & crisp that we decided to take another hike. About 2 miles of steep roadways led to an old gold mining operation back in the gold rush.

Justin wanted to try his luck at panning for gold, so for $8, we bought a pan, siphon, and a glass container. It was worth it though, because we ended up with about $15 worth of gold, silver, and copper combined. Since it would cost more than that to refine and process, he decided to keep it to treasure.

In the evening, the inside passage was breathtaking. Whales were spouting and their tail fins broke the surface. Although I never saw one jump completely out of the water, other passengers on board did. They surfaced in areas I didn't have my camera focused, so unfortunately, no picture of the whales.

At dinner, it was formal night, so we all dressed up for pictures. This one is taken in the ships' main deck at the foyer.

Vacation Day 5 - Ketchikan, Alaska

Our first port of call was in Ketchikan, a town with annual rainfall around 14 feet (168 in). We were there during perfect weather:

sunshine, mid 60's, and dry (very rare for this

town).

Rather than spend money on an expensive excursion, we decided to enjoy the weather and hike Deer Mountain Trail. A 4 yr old black bear was spotted at the trail's entrance just an hour before, but fortunately we didn't cross paths.

We didn't quite make it half way on the trail because the little one fell asleep. We also didn't want to risk taking too long to get back or we'd miss the ship - only 6 hrs at port.

Vacation Day 4 - At Sea

While at sea, we took advantages of some great programs on board. They had several activities for kids-only, like an indoor playscape for the littlest ones, a Wii tournament for tweens, and dance parties for the teenagers. Below is a cupcake making event for the whole family.

In the evening, all the little ones from 2-5 yrs made crowns and marched in a prince & princess parade around the ship. Then, every time they wore their crown throughout the week, the stewards on the ship would bow to them and address them as little "prince or princess" and their name, giving them royal treatment. It was really cute.