Category: Uncategorized

You know we have a BIG problem when . . .

You know that there is a huge problem in the United States when the Chancellor of Germany[*1] plans to discuss the NSA eavesdropping scandal with Obama when they next meet.

A question for Democrats and other Obama partisans: what–exactly–could Obama and his Administration possibly do which would cause you to seriously reconsider your support for him, and them?

If you can’t answer that question honestly to yourself (or worse, if your answer is “nothing,” then you are a danger to other people’s freedom and liberty, and you should not be surprised if other people begin treating you as such.

If you do have an honest, principled answer to that question, then take a good, long look at what Obama and his Administration have already done. Chances are that they have already crossed your line–it’s just that they’ve victimized people you don’t have any respect for anyway.

What then does that say about your fundamental sense of fairness? Of your sense of humanity itself?

Wait! I was told vote fraud was not a problem!

Poll worker convicted of voting fraud.[*1]

Guess which Presidential candidate got illegal votes cast on his behalf? Just guess. One guess.

How many more Melowese Richardsons are out there? Two others have been convicted in her county alone, and three more are yet to stand trial. How many counties did this election-stealing occur? Why do the overwhelming majority of these cases involve illegal votes for one party, and not the other?

How many illegitimate votes were cast how many votes for candidates of that party? Hundreds? Certainly. Thousands? Likely. Tens of thousands? Probably. Enough to steal elections? Well, why would people be doing this, except to steal elections illegally that they could not otherwise win?

And oh, by the way, during that same election cycle where the demonstrated vote fraud was occurring, the IRS and the entire weight of the federal government was working overtime suppressing its political opponents.

No. No conspiracy here. That’s crazy talk.

Hat tip The Blaze[*2] .

Memorial Weekend, 2013

Memorial Day is when we remember–not the veterans who returned home, but those who did not.

“I do not know whether it is to yourself or Mr. Adams I am to give my thanks for the copy of the new constitution. I beg leave through you to place them where due. It will be yet three weeks before I shall receive them from America. There are very good articles in it: and very bad. I do not know which preponderate.

What we have lately read in the history of Holland, in the chapter on the Stadtholder, would have sufficed to set me against a Chief magistrate eligible for a long duration, if I had ever been disposed towards one: and what we have always read of the elections of Polish kings should have forever excluded the idea of one continuable for life.

Wonderful is the effect of impudent and persevering lying. The British ministry have so long hired their gazetteers to repeat and model into every form lies about our being in anarchy, that the world has at length believed them, the English nation has believed them, the ministers themselves have come to believe them, and what is more wonderful, we have believed them ourselves. Yet where does this anarchy exist? Where did it ever exist, except in the single instance of Massachusets? And can history produce an instance of a rebellion so honourably conducted? I say nothing of it’s motives. They were founded in ignorance, not wickedness. God forbid we should ever be 20. years without such a rebellion.

The people can not be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. We have had 13. states independant 11. years. There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century and a half for each state.

What country ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two?

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure. Our Convention has been too much impressed by the insurrection of Massachusets: and in the spur of the moment they are setting up a kite to keep the hen yard in order. I hope in god this article will be rectified before the new constitution is accepted.”
– Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, Paris, 13 Nov. 1787

(Paragraph spacing is mine; for readability only.)

This Thomas Jefferson letter is known primarily for the quotation “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.” But equally if not more insightful is an earlier Jefferson comment in the letter: “Wonderful is the effect of impudent and persevering lying. The British ministry have so long hired their gazetteers to repeat and model into every form lies about our being in anarchy, that the world has at length believed them, the English nation has believed them, the ministers themselves have come to believe them, and what is more wonderful, we have believed them ourselves. Yet where does this anarchy exist?”

Free press, yes. But aren’t we always told that with freedom (gained by the sacrifice of brave warriors) comes responsibility?

What has our free press done with the freedom they have been given, but lie to us at the whim of the very government which they increasingly depend on for their “copy.”

It is past time to call for Separation of Press and State, every bit as restrictive as the separation of State and Religion which is daily imposed on even private citizens in the public sphere.

What shape would this Separation of Press and State take? It is hard to say. At a minimum, the State must not be providing funding to the Press: either overtly through “public broadcasting” or by purchasing advertising from media outlets.

Beyond that, you encounter conflicts between the rights of individuals and the requirements of this separation–just like conflicts occur between expressions of religion and the governmental duty to maintain public order.

But, on Memorial Day, is it really enough to put a hand over your heart, bow your head for a 10-second “moment of silence), and then dig into your burger and beer? Shouldn’t people be talking about what the people who died in the service of this country gave up their lives for in the first place? Wouldn’t that be a more proper and fitting memorial than a family picnic?

What have you done with the freedoms you have, which were secured by the blood of your fellows of this generation and of the generations which came before? What will you do with those freedoms?

Will you use your freedoms to take away the freedoms of others?

Because unless things change drastically in this country, that’s exactly what we as a nation are doing right now. What kind of memorial is that?

Is beer getting too bitter? YES.

I stumbled across an article in Slate which makes the point: beer makers, especially the trendy micro brewers, are addicted to hops:

So when a homebrewer friend recently decided to visit my husband and me from Tennessee, I was excited to spend time with a kindred spirit, someone with whom I could share my favorite brews without having to make a hard sell. The first brewery I took him to was Hopworks Urban Brewery, where I ordered us a pitcher of the Velvet English session beer.

After a few sips, I noticed that he had pushed away his glass. “I’m sorry, guys,” he said when he noticed our puzzled expressions. “This is just way too hoppy for me.”

I was floored. Session beer is light and drinkable—it’s called session beer because you’re supposed to be able to drink several over the course of a drinking session without ruining your palate. If one of my favorite session beers was too hoppy and bitter for an avid beer drinker—for a homebrewer who is currently brewing beer to serve at his own wedding—what would he think of the famed Pacific Northwest IPAs? Do friends let friends drink only pilsners?

That’s when I realized that I had a problem. In fact, everyone I know in the craft beer industry has a problem: We’re so addicted to hops that we don’t even notice them anymore.

The problem is endemic. And I think the last sentence reveals the problem: suds-heads have become desensitized to the bitterness of hops.

We can see the problem of desensitization everywhere in society, actually. We see it in the currently flourishing IRS scandal, where a corrosive Democrat-Media complex demonized Tea Party groups and people whose only crime is to actually think that the Constitution should perhaps be read for comprehension rather than “interpreted as a living document,” and that progressive (pun intended) desensitization soaked into the fertile ground of the IRS.

This doesn’t excuse the oppression coming from the IRS. Far from it. It simply highlights once again that this kind of political power is just too dangerous to hand to anybody.

Anybody.

Because it’s far, FAR too easy to go down the path of thinking you’re the “good guy” while you’re happily suppressing your neighbors and friends. For their own good, you see.

The problem is “assault people,” not “assault weapons”

Stabbing injures several on Lone Star College Cy-Fair campus[*1]

Knives don’t slash people. People slash people.

Inanimate objects are tools. They don’t do anything. They don’t think, don’t feel, don’t care. It is the purpose to which people use the tools which is the issue, despite the incessant partisan ideological shrieking of the control-freak media and their pet politicians.

Story headline stolen from a line by Ace of Spades[*2]

Reminder: MSNBC is a propaganda, not a news network

Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism[*1]

Ratios of commentary/opinion to news content on “news” networks:

MSNBC: 85% commentary/opinion, 15% news;

Fox News: 55% commentary/opinion, 45% news;

CNN: 46% commentary/opinion, 54% news.

Note that MSNBC’s commentary/opinion consists overwhelmingly of leftist propaganda, tropes, and groupthink, while Fox presents a range of leftist, conservative, and libertarian viewpoints. (I never watch CNN so I have no idea what their ideological mix is.)

The 2012 Alaska Cruise, Part 3

The 2012 14-Day Alaskan Explorer, Holland America ms Amsterdam

Part Three

July 7 (Saturday, Day 10, Homer) –

Kilts in Homer. Why? Who knows?

Snookums, Filbert and Matt left the ship and looked for the rental car woman on the dock. We didn’t see anyone and asked a local to call the rental car number. We then found the woman in the big maroon van that was to be our rental car. She took us to the airport for us to do the paperwork and then we were off on our adventure. On the way to the scenic overlook by the cell towers, we passed the Farmer’s Market and stopped. It was small but sold all sorts of produce, fish, handicrafts and potting plants. Zucchini were $4 each and tomatoes were $5 per pound. We talked to a vendor to find out why things were so expensive and he explained that he has two green houses that he heats with wood for 24 hours a day beginning in March and that is why things are so expensive. Matt wanted to bring his zucchini to Alaska and become a millionaire. It started sprinkling and was around 55° but we were okay.

We then headed to the overlook and were on the hunt for moose. We didn’t find any moose, but we did have a nice view of Homer. The Sprint phones had no service and Matt’s Verizon phone had one bar of service while standing next to several cell towers!

On the heights over Homer

Then it was on to Fritz Creek General Store. First, though, we passed the sign for Bear Creek Winery so we stopped there. Matt and Filbert enjoyed several tastings and ended up buying six bottles of various wines including gooseberry, rhubarb, raspberry and port wine. Both of them were amazed at how little the rhubarb wine tasted like rhubarb (which they both love) but they really enjoyed the rhubarb wine and bought two bottles of it. Snookums enjoyed the crackers with salmon spread that the lady was handing out while they tasted many wines.

We continued on to Fritz Creek in order to hopefully find moose. We didn’t see any moose but drove on a little road for a long time before it finally ended at a house. Along the way we saw houses, shacks, a rundown school bus that somebody probably lived in at some point and other dwellings. We drove back to Fritz Creek General Store and Snookums had the soup of the day (curry spiced tomato with garbanzo beans plus three slices of homemade sourdough bread – delicious soup and bread), Matt had a piece of blackberry/blueberry pie with a custard layer on the top (excellent) and Filbert had an Italian hoagie and carrot cake (yummy). Milk was $8 gallon in the store and Matt talked to the sales clerk and found out that a lot of the homes in Fritz Creek don’t have running water so they don’t even bother trying to save money by using powdered milk! Fritz Creek is kind of a hippie community, albeit a very small one.

On the way back to Homer we stopped at NOMAR which is a local company that makes polar fleece and sea tarp travel bags. We could see the factory part of the store which contained 10 huge tables and each one had a sewing machine on it. Since it was Saturday, no one was working, but all of the work stations appeared to be in use. Zippers could be purchased by the yard from a bolt as well as all sorts of fasteners and buckles. NOMAR specializes in making marine items like canvas for boats.

After that shopping trip, we went to the Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center and watched a short movie about the area and looked at some exhibits, including hands on items like marine life that was caught that morning (starfish, little fish, etc.) and plants that were cut that morning. We learned that the white flowering weed that we kept seeing that kind of looked like Queen Anne’s Lace is highly toxic (like poison ivy) and is called Cow’s Parsnip. We did the little half-mile nature walk and saw three lesser sandhill cranes. There are four that are nesting in Homer and the naturalist was very excited about them since they return to their nesting areas each year. So, we saw three-fourths of the lesser sandhill crane population in Homer!

At the Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center (chicks are in there somewhere)

Our final stop was at Homer Brewing Company. Two tastings per person were allowed and they were much smaller tastings than at the brewery in Juneau. Matt bought beer in a plastic 2-liter soda bottle to take to dinner.

We drove back to the ship but first drove up and down Homer Spit since that was the part of Homer that Jean and Pat would have seen since they were just going to walk from the ship. (You can’t walk to Homer proper from the ship. You can only walk to Homer Spit which is a mix of commercial fishing, some touristy stores and restaurants.) A lot of RVs and campers were parked in the various Homer Spit RV areas and the only road was busy. We drove to the end of the road on the Spit and turned around and parked the rental van at our dock. Matt agreed that just walking the Spit didn’t look too exciting. (Snookums and Filbert walked the Spit two years ago.) Although we didn’t see any moose, it was a good day.

July 8 (Sunday, Day 11, Kodiak) –

Snookums, Filbert and Matt got a rental car and ended up driving 107 miles. There are less than 100 miles of road on Kodiak Island!! Snookums really wanted to see a bear, but instead we saw a bison ambling down the middle of Pasagshak Bay Road for about ten minutes. There were two cars in front of us so the three cars just patiently waited for the bison to leave the road. Matt said that the bison was on the road since it was much easier terrain than the hill on either side of us. We also saw a lot of eagles and Filbert and Matt saw a large black tailed Sitka deer. Snookums drove the car back to where they spotted it, but it was gone by then (or at least hidden by the heavy brush). We also saw a rabbit (maybe an arctic hare?), cows and some horses that appeared to be untethered and unfenced, grazing half-way up a small mountain.

Bison on the road

We drove to the end of the Pasagshak Bay Road and saw the Kodiak Launch Complex which is a commercial rocket launch facility owned by the State of Alaska. It has had 14 launches, all successful, since it opened in 1991. After we drove to the end of that road, we decided to drive to the end of Chiniak Highway. It turned into an unpaved road which we followed for several miles before turning around.

After our four-hour driving tour, we went to the Kodiak Refuge Visitor Center museum that has the whale skeleton in it. While there we ran into Jean, Judy and Pat and ended up taking Jean with us while Judy and Pat decided to walk back to the ship. Then we drove over the Fred Zharoff Bridge in downtown Kodiak and got out for a view of Kodiak, population 6,000. After a quick stop at the Safeway, we drove to the ship. First, though, we had to stop at Kodiak Island Brewing Company and Matt and Filbert each decided to buy a pint. Beer is sold in growlers or in pints. The pints must be consumed on the premises. It is NOT a bar and really is a brewery. There is no food and no other beverages. Just the beer on tap. While there, Matt took an empty 50-pound hops bag that he was thrilled with since it was made out of heavy-duty plastic. He said he was going to use it for his dirty clothes on the way home.

We got back to the ship around 2:30 and had a light (late) lunch since dinner would be at 5:45. Tonight is formal night but we had reservations for Canaletto, the Italian restaurant, which doesn’t require formal attire. Everyone was happy with that decision.

July 9 (Monday, Day 12, Cruising Hubbard Glacier) –

Snookums met with the future cruise consultant to put a deposit on a South American cruise. Snookums and Filbert then attended the talk by the travel guide about the many tribes (12 or 13 – Snookums can’t remember how many!) in Alaska. It was very interesting.

At noon six of us enjoyed the Indonesian lunch that was just for the Deluxe Verandah Suite guests. (Snookums asked if Matt and Judy could attend and was told “yes”. Jean and Pat weren’t interested in attending since they wanted to eat Caesar salads with lots of anchovies in Lido.) It was very good and a nice change of pace.

Scenic cruising

Snookums and Filbert attended the park ranger’s talk and learned about the glaciers we would be seeing. Around 3 PM the “scenic cruising” started as we entered Yakutat Bay. We cruised by Malaspina Glacier which is the world’s largest piedmont glacier at 40 miles wide and 28 miles long. A piedmont glacier never reaches the water and instead just fills a plain with ice. Since it didn’t meet the water, we couldn’t really see much of it but did notice a line on the horizon where it was. The star of the show was Hubbard Glacier. It is North America’s largest tidewater glacier and is more than 6 miles across and 300 feet high. It was actively calving and the weather was sunny. The ship got as close as it could and then the port side (our side) was turned to face of the glacier. We stayed that way for at least 30 minutes since there was so much calving going on. At one point the ship started to leave but the calving really started so it stayed where it was. Our side got a great show and even Mom and Dad could enjoy it from the comfort of their suite. The rest of us were on the verandahs, though, listening to the loud roars as the ice broke and watching the big splashes as they tumbled into the water.

Splash

Jean attended the Indonesian Crew show at 11 PM since both of our waiters were in it. She enjoyed the hand dance the most. Everyone else in our group was probably sound asleep!

July 10 (Tuesday, Day 13, Sitka) –

Tlingit canoe

Filbert and Snookums took one of the first tenders to Sitka and walked around. Snookums got the free charm of Sitka and both got the free mink roses. When we were in Sitka two years ago we didn’t know about any free items since we went on a tour right away and missed the coupons being handed out at the dock. We bought duct tape, too, since Mom’s luggage (that Snookums lent to her) had a three-inch rip in it. We saw the commemorative Tlingit canoe by the library. We also saw an eagle on the top of St. Michael’s Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church that is a major Sitka sight.

July 11 (Wednesday, Day 14, At sea) –

Today was a sea day and it was overcast and 59°. Everyone attended the medallion ceremony and saw Dad get his copper medallion for cruising on Holland America for 100 days. (Mom got hers on the last cruise since she did a Panama Canal cruise 25 years ago with Snookums and other women.) Snookums also got a new medallion, a silver one, for 300 days. According to her calculations Snookums was only at 238 days, but if HAL says she gets the silver medallion, she’ll take it. (Filbert is at 204 days.) Mom, Dad, Judy, Jean and Matt enjoyed the Mariner’s lunch after the ceremony and sat with the mother of the future cruise consultant. They learned that the ship is chartered for the next two weeks by two different religious groups and so the casino staff, bar staff, performers and future cruise consultant are not allowed to work. They will get paid, but for those that work on tips, like the Filipino bar staff, the HAL wage is basically nothing. The future cruise consultant, though, is an officer and essentially gets a two-week paid vacation if she stays on the ship. If she goes home to Portland, she won’t get paid so she is going to stay on the ship and enjoy being like a normal passenger.

Medallions

Tonight was the last formal night and Filbert was happy that Escargots Bourguignons (escargot in melted butter) was on the menu. Our last cruise a few months ago was on Oceania and this typical formal night appetizer was never served so Filbert ordered two of them! (It should be noted that most nights Snookums ordered two desserts since the fruit crisp of the day was usually a good flavor and then there was always another dessert she wanted to taste.) As a surprise to Matt, the waiters sang the Indonesian “Happy Birthday” song since his birthday is in one week and we gave him a Hoops & YoYo singing surprise card. He was surprised and enjoyed the chocolate birthday cake.

After dinner Pat bought two future cruise deposits for Holland America since she is going to take her husband on an Alaskan cruise. She has four years to use these so the clock is ticking! Snookums and Filbert might just have to accompany them, too, since they are always looking for a reason to cruise.

July 12 (Thursday, Day 15, Victoria, BC) –

We woke up to the foghorn sounding every five minutes and fog so thick that you literally couldn’t see. Snookums and Filbert have experienced the foghorn before but never in fog this thick. It lasted for at least three hours and then as we got closer to Victoria, we sailed out of it. We could look behind us and see the line of fog. It was weird. Around 11 AM it was sunny and nice, though, and everyone enjoyed the salmon bake that was being grilled by the pool.

Matt, Jean, Snookums and Filbert left the ship around 12:30 and headed for the Tilley store. Tilley is a Canadian company and the founder created hats that are guaranteed for life. Filbert bought one five years ago and has worn it a lot and recently decided to buy a lighter weight version for the hot climates that we travel to. After Snookums pulled it out of the wash the last time, the nylon stiffener was coming out of the edge of the brim which meant it could be replaced for free. Filbert found a hat that he liked and Snookums found a pair of pants. Jean and Matt didn’t find anything. We continued walking around downtown and Filbert found a used bookstore. At that point Jean and Matt went on their way. While Filbert was in the bookstore Snookums enjoyed sitting outside in the sun people watching. She put on Filbert’s hat and decided she needed one, too. So they went back to the Tilley store and bought a hat for her and got another pair of free socks since there was a coupon for free $16 socks with purchase. They left the Tilley store for the second time and walked through the inner harbor and looked at the various vendors. They bought kettle corn and enjoyed eating it while walking the mile or so back to the ship. There was about an hour and a half before dinner so packing was started.

After dinner Filbert continued packing while Snookums wrote in the journal and also went from cabin to cabin delivering things and passing along messages. The bags were put in the hall around 10 PM and we settled in for the night.

July 13 (Friday, Day 16, Flying to Kansas City) –

After cruising 3,675 nautical miles (or 4,225 statute miles), the ship was cleared for disembarkation at 7:20 AM. We all met at 7:45 AM for a leisurely breakfast and then met in Mom and Dad’s cabin at 9:15 AM to leave the ship for the last time. We gathered our eleven checked bags and multiple carry-ons (including Matt’s bag of dirty laundry that was in the 50-pound hops bag from Kodiak Island Brewing Company!), found a porter, cleared Customs and headed out to where our pre-booked van would pick us up. All of this took about 25 minutes but was relatively hassle-free.

When we got to the airport at 10:15 AM it was a mob scene and getting our bags checked and going through security took at least an hour, but we had plenty of time since our flight had already been delayed an hour until 2:45 PM due to bad weather in Houston. We ate lunch while waiting for the plane and also bought dinner for on the plane since we wouldn’t land until 8 PM in Kansas City. The Southwest flight was uneventful and four of us even had an empty seat next to us. Our shuttle van was waiting for us at the KC airport and the first stop was at Mom, Dad and Judy’s and then Filbert and Snookums got home around 10 PM. Everything was fine except the yard was brown due to the watering ban in Lee’s Summit.

Other than not seeing any moose or bears, Snookums thought it was a great cruise. Filbert really enjoyed feeling like “being at home” on Holland America as compared to his feeling while on Oceania. Filbert gained 3 pounds and Snookums gained 3.4 pounds and enjoyed every one of her dinners that included double desserts since the Daily Baked Alaska or the Fruit Crisp of the Day was typically one of her dessert choices.

The 2012 Alaska Cruise, Part 2

The 2012 14-Day Alaskan Explorer, Holland America ms Amsterdam

Text and pictures by Snookums, webification by Filbert

Part Two

July 3 (Tuesday, Day 6, Juneau) –

Mendenhall Glacier

Filbert and Snookums walked to Juneau Car Rental Company, about a mile from the ship, for our 8-passenger rental van. We picked up everyone else back at the ship and drove to Mendenhall Glacier. Mom and Dad stayed in the visitor’s center while the rest of us “hiked” to Nugget Falls which is a waterfall near the glacier. The weather was nice and it was an easy walk. Pat spotted a mountain goat that all of us were able to see. Snookums still wants to see a bear and a moose, though!

The gang at the glacier

After that we drove to Sand Bar & Grill for what many consider to be Alaska’s best halibut and chips. We all thought it was very good. Filbert and Matt ordered the 8 oz. meal for $17 while the rest of us had the 5 oz. meal for $14. A pitcher of Alaskan Summer Ale was also consumed.

Then we drove to Shrine of St. Therese. We hoped to see whales and other wildlife and nature but didn’t. It was beautiful, but we all stayed in the car since the mosquitoes (and mud) were prevalent. Then we headed to WalMart for some basic purchases before heading to the Alaskan Brewing Co. This brewery no longer gives tours (a video is played) but the free tastings are large and the limit is six per person! Dad enjoyed his Amber Ale. We piled into the van one more time, filled it with gas at $4.23/gallon and headed back to the ship. Everyone except for Snookums, Judy and Jean got out and returned to the ship. We returned the van and then we walked back to the ship while stopping at all of the free charm and necklace places. Snookums and Jean each bought a large bag of kettle corn for later, too.

Everyone was intrigued that Juneau can only be reached by air and water and not by road. It is the capitol of Alaska and has a fleet of state-owned seaplanes that we kept seeing land and take off.

The ship left Juneau at 10 PM and Juneau was going to celebrate its 4th of July with fireworks at 11:45 PM on July 3. (Sunset was at 9:56 PM.) Starting around 7 PM people built bonfires on the shore across from the ship and started shooting off fireworks. There were just a few to begin with, but as the night went on, more and more were shot off. Boats came to the harbor, too, since the official fireworks shows was going to be in the channel. As the ship was leaving there was a large personal fireworks display and the smoke was intense. Although he was dead tired, Filbert sat on the verandah and watched all of it. Snookums joined him for some of it and we ate the kettle corn purchased earlier in the day.

July 4 (Wednesday, Day 7, Icy Strait Point) –

Humpback, rather close

We were on the first tender of the day and got to Icy Strait Point around 7:35 AM. Our whale watching captain, Paul Comolli, was waiting for us with the Hoonah Travel Adventures van (hoonahwhalewatching.com). He asked us if we wanted coffee and Jean said “yes” and so we stopped at one of the two coffee shops for coffee to go. It was Jean’s birthday so if she wanted coffee, she could have coffee.

Then we drove to the 35-foot whale watching boat and set out for our adventure. We saw humpback whales, sea otters, stellar sea lions (even mating ones!), harbor seals, bald eagles and a mink. At one point, the water was full of “boiling fish” since there was a huge school of herring that were making lots of small waves and “pops” at the top of the water. Captain Paul gave Jean an enamel pin of a humpback whale since it was her birthday. After our 4-hour whale watching tour, Captain Paul took us on a tour of Hoonah.

Sea lions

He was a member of Juneau’s police department for 20 years before retiring to Hoonah, population 850. He wears many hats including being a volunteer fireman, an EMT, an electric company employee on Saturday and Sunday, and a whale watching captain. In his spare time he hunts bear and deer and does chainsaw art (by commission). His wife enjoys living in Hoonah, as do his three children. Hoonah has a grocery store, Ace Hardware and filling station all in one location and also has two coffee shops and a bait/tackle/gun store. We also saw a thrift store and a gift store (most likely for the tourists that come during the summer on the four weekly cruise ships). It is located three hours from Juneau, via ferry, or 30 minutes via seaplane. A round-trip ticket costs $150 for either mode (with a car allowed on the ferry). People buy a lot of their food from the Costco in Juneau and ship it in at a cost of about $1 per pound. Gasoline is $5.05/gallon. The high school class of 2011 had four graduates!

In the 1940s government housing that was destined for Guam was redirected to Hoonah. As a result there are many, many houses that look identical. And, since they were gifts of the government they are exempt from property tax. As a result, there is no property tax in Hoonah for anyone (and no state income tax for Alaska).

After our great tour we got back on the tender and headed back to the ship. We briefly stopped in our cabins to shed some layers and then arrived in Lido for lunch around 2 PM. Everyone was starving. There is something about being out in nature to make you extra hungry.

In the afternoon we had a birthday party for Jean in Mom and Dad’s room. Jean opened her presents and Mom even got various sweets from Neptune Lounge to go with the one bottle of champagne that was given to each Deluxe Verandah Suite.

There was another party at dinner as the wait staff sang the Indonesian version of “Happy Birthday” and presented Jean with a birthday cake with a candle in it. Everyone was full so Rofi, our waiter, made it into an aluminum foil swan to take back to the cabin. It was a good day.

July 5 (Thursday, Day 8, At sea) –

Today was a quiet day. It was overcast and around 50°. The highlight was that we all met in Neptune Lounge prior to the formal dinner for a family photograph.

Family photograph

Snookums and Filbert attended the 4-star Mariner cocktail party after dinner which was hosted by Captain Fred Eversen and Hotel Manager Frank Ulbricht. Snookums ordered a non-alcoholic blended mocha drink but it wasn’t as good as the free one she had on the ms Nieuw Amsterdam in February. Filbert had red wine.

For those of you wondering what there is to do during a day at sea, the following activities happened between 11:00 and 2:00 today:11:00 – History of Faberge, Queen’s Lounge11:00 – Flavors of the Amsterdam, Culinary Arts Center11:00 – Women’s Football Toss, Sports Court11:30 – Windows 7 with Techspert Patti, Digital Workshop1:00 – Team Trivia Challenge, Explorer’s Lounge1:00 – Art Auction, Ocean Bar1:00 – Relay Race, Atrium1:00 – Flower Arranging, Culinary Arts Center1:00 – $500 Slot Tournament, Casino1:30 – Texas Hold’em Tournament, Casino2:00 – Card Players Meet, King’s Room2:00 – Toast with Celebrity Designer Onboard, Piano Bar2:00 – Travel Guide Jeanette Presents “Fire and Ice”, Queen’s Lounge2:00 – Navigator Wine Tasting, La Fontaine Dining Room2:00 – Dance Class: Quickstep, Crow’s Nest

July 6 (Friday, Day 9, Anchorage) –

Snookums and Filbert took the shuttle to downtown Anchorage and then waited for around 50 minutes in line at Avis. We finally got the minivan and drove back to the port to pick everyone up. After a few delays for security reasons, we got to the ship around 10:30. Everyone was there except Mom who didn’t sleep much due to being slightly under the weather. She was fine, but tired, and decided to stay on the ship.

Closest we ever got to a moose

Our first stop was the Alaska Botanical Garden. Unlike most botanical gardens, this doesn’t have an arboretum and instead has woodchip paths through the woods with a few gardens sprinkled throughout. The mosquitoes were thick (and big and slow and easy to kill if you saw them in time) and we stayed for about thirty minutes. We did see the famous Meconopsis (Himalayan Blue Poppy) which was very, very blue and very pretty. Dad picked up two of the petals from the ground to show Mom.

At the Alaska Botanical Garden

Then we drove to Humpy’s, which is a local bar with food and around 50 beers, many local, on tap. We sat at two tables and Snookums ordered the cod and chips, Jean ordered the salmon and chips and Filbert ordered the halibut and chips. The three of us shared and the halibut and chips was definitely much, much better in Juneau. It was $6 more at Humpy’s as compared to the cod or salmon. The deep fried cod and deep fried salmon were both good and the salmon didn’t even taste “salmon-like”. It was red so it was definitely salmon, but it was very mild. Pat ordered a tuna salad sandwich that the menu specifically stated was made without onions and she was thrilled with that since raw onions make her sick. It came with homemade clam chowder, too, and she said that was also delicious. Two kinds of beer were consumed and everyone was happy.

After lunch we drove to Point Woronzof which is very close to the airport. It is supposed to be a scenic spot to see the ocean and downtown Anchorage. We were hoping to see whales or something but didn’t. However, since it was close to the airport, we ended up sitting on the side of the runway so that the interested parties (Dad, Matt and Filbert) could watch a DC-6 and several cargo 747s take off. At one point while Snookums was at a stop sign and before we realized how close we were to the airport, she put her foot on the gas pedal right as a 747 flew overhead a few feet. (Okay, it was probably more than a few feet, but several people in the minivan yelled and Snookums thought they saw a moose. Nope, a very low flying plane. That incident led to parking on the side of the airport and watching planes for 45 minutes or so.)

DC-6 taking off

After the airport “sightseeing” we stopped at Earthquake Park which is a small park that has plaques describing the 1964 Anchorage earthquake. The mosquitoes were thick there, too, and Snookums spent most of the time in the minivan. Judy was covered from head to toe, including having the hood of her parka on and tied so that only her eyes, nose and mouth were showing and she still managed to get five mosquito bites right above her eyebrows. But, unlike Snookums, she read all of the earthquake signs.

On our way to our last stop we filled up with gas and used the bathroom. While in the gas station convenience store, Dad realized that the licorice that was being sold was Mom’s favorite brand. There were seven packages of it (American is the manufacturer) and we bought all of them. Then it was on to Potter Marsh Bird Sanctuary which was another nature spot with boardwalks built over the marsh for bird viewing. We found Potter’s Marsh but never saw any boardwalks. Instead we drove up a curvy hillside, with lots of switchbacks, to a subdivision and saw some very, very nice houses. On the way out, we went a different way and finally saw the boardwalks. By this time, though, we were done sightseeing and decided to go back to the ship.

Snookums and Jean dropped everyone off and returned the minivan to Avis and took the shuttle back to the ship. After a quick stop in one of the ship’s public bathrooms to wash hands, they went straight to dinner and got there around 5:45, right on time!

Pat and Matt stayed up for sunset at 11:39 PM and told everyone that it was still very light out at that time.