January 10, 2017

January 10, 2017

This morning our group is on the move.  On board the bus, we drive four hours east to the coast.  Along the way we make a stop at a truck stop with an attached store selling crafts of Vietnam.  It is extensive and even has huge sculptures.  They also have a dozen women doing needlepoint artwork.

At the coast we stopped at a cultured pearl farm. Several ladies demonstrate the art of seeding oysters.  It looked like dentistry for mollusks.  Back in the water, the oyster begins secreting mother-of-pearl around the seed.  Another lady opened up mature oysters to show the pearls formed.  Of course the whole motivation of the demonstration was to sell us pearls from the store.

Afterwards we drove to the pier and tendered onto a boat for an overnight cruise on Halong Bay. We luck out and our small group has the whole boat to ourselves. Our cabin is wonderful, better than we’ve had on fancy ships at home.

Halong Bay, a World Heritage Site, is famous for its Karst rock formations. The bay is dotted with a thousand limestone monoliths. Over the eons, acidic rainwater seeping through cracks formed caverns whose roofs eventually eroded away leaving this startling landscape.  It is magnificent.  Our only disappointment is the weather.  It is foggy and gray.  We could use some Arizona sun!

Apparently Halong Bay is not a secret.  We are shocked at the number of cruise boats who accompanied us as we motored our way through the tiny passages between the islands.  The landscape is hard to capture in a photo.  To improve the perspective, we stopped at Titov Island, where we climbed 465 steps to the peak for a bird’s eye view of the scenery.

The bounty of the bay has been harvested traditionally by floating villages.  Three still survive. We stopped at Cua Van to see one. This community of Vietnamese live on the water atop floating docks and boats tethered together.  It must be a tough isolated existence. Almost everything they need has to be brought to them.  An older lady resident rows six of us around the sheltered area so we can get a closer look. They just happened to be getting a visit from the corner grocery store, a tiny boat loaded to the gills with odds and ends.

Afterwards our ship drops anchor for the night. We can see the lights of a handful of other boats around us. Just before dinner, the chef gave a demo on food carving. It was divine.  It is amazing the art that can be created from simple fruits and vegetables.

Dinner was a buffet of seafood, including huge prawns, fried calamari, steamed fish, stuffed crabs along with delicious salads and spring rolls.

January 9, 2017

January 9, 2017

We wake fresh and relaxed in Hanoi, surprisingly with little jet lag.  No matter the distance it seems to be easier going west.  We are up early and off to breakfast in the hotel.  It is wonderful. We start with the traditional Vietnamese dish of Pho (pronounced Fa).  Pho is essentially a fancy chicken noodle soup which I spiced up with some peppers and curry-like sauce.  They also had our favorite, French chocolate croissants.

Our tour group started the day at the Old Quarter with a walking tour to get closeups of everything being sold.  It is all done right at curbside with seemingly little regard for western-style hygiene. Women are washing chickens on the sidewalk and dentist chairs are in full view of the street.

We returned to Hanoi’s central lake to learn a little history. For a thousand years this area of Northern Vietnam was dominated by the Chinese empire.  The name Nam Viet (or Nan Yue) referred to the southern Yue people.   Nam Viet tried numerous times to escape Chinese rule but were unable until 983 AD, when they defeated the Chinese in battle.  Vietnam finally had its independence, but not without effort.  After the Mongols under Genghis Khan overran China in the 13th century, they invaded Vietnam three times but were repulsed.  The victorious Viet general Tran Hung Dao has a temple dedicated to him on one end of the lake. It is accessed by a pretty red bridge.

We continue the history lesson at Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum.  Ho spent his life trying to free Vietnam from the French.  At the close of WWII, Ho declared independence. Unfortunately, the French had other ideas and tried to restore the colony, setting off a guerrilla war that would drag in the USA, China, and the Soviet Union. Uncle Ho, as he is affectionately referred, is revered by most Vietnamese.

After watching a changing of the guard, we visit Ho’s living quarters.  He lived very humbly refusing the French Governor-General Presidential Palace.  

We then move on to the Temple of Literature, which was the first Vietnamese University, established nearly 1000 years ago. It is famous for its numerous stelae carved with the names of the outstanding graduates, the Dean’s List of their time.

We then had a delicious meal at KOTO, (Know One Teach One), a culinary school.  After just a few meals, we are beginning to think we have missed out not trying Vietnamese food before.

After lunch, it is more history with a visit to the infamous Hoa Lo Prison.  It was built by the French to house revolutionaries but was later used by the Vietnamese to house US POW’s including Arizona’s own John McCain. The US referred to it as the “Hanoi Hilton”.  Much of it was torn down but a small section remains as a museum.  It must have been a hell-hole when the French ran it. Besides tall walls with glass shard tops and small cells with shackles, it had two guillotines. Ho Chi Minh only escaped execution because he lived in exile much of his life.

Leaving the group, Aimee and I walked into town to see the World Heritage Hanoi Citadel. Unfortunately it is closed today and we have to settle for a couple photos through a locked gate. The citadel is the 1000 year old residence of the Viet royalty. Little remains except for a flag tower on one end and an elaborate entrance gate on the other.

January 8, 2017

January 8, 2017

We are only in Taiwan to transfer planes.  After a 2-hour layover, we are back in the air for another 2.5 hours headed to Hanoi, capital of Vietnam. We arrive to dreary foggy humid weather.  We meet our tour group outside customs and head by bus to our hotel in the center of the city.

After a quick power nap we decide to stretch our legs and walk through the French Quarter ending at the old Opera House.  Starting in 1862 the French conquered most of Southeast Asia turning it into a colony with a plantation economy to export tobacco, tea, indigo and coffee.  Hanoi was a one time capital of French Indochina.

Back at the hotel we met up with our tour group and drove to the Old Quarter.  There we hired electric golf carts to drive us around. This was the commercial area of Hanoi.  Every street is named for the commodity that was sold on it.  Tet (Lunar New Year) is fast approaching so colorful festival items are abundant.

We then went to watch a water puppet show. Water Puppets are uniquely Vietnamese. I was not expecting much but it turned out to be very cute. I guess when you live in a rice paddy society, your life revolves around water.  Appropriately there were rice planters, water buffalo plows, jumping carp, fisherman, ducks, and of course fire-breathing dragons.  It was performed in a shallow swimming pool.  Instead of strings from above, ten puppeteers animate the figures using sticks below the water. Aimee and I would have liked to gone backstage and see how it was done.

Afterwards we had our welcome dinner. We were served an elaborately prepared western meal. Apparently the Vietnamese adopted the French proclivity for food presentation.

After dinner we walked around Hoan Kiem, the lake that lies in the heart of Hanoi.  On an island is Turtle Tower. The area was full of very young people enjoying the nice weather.  It is just a little too humid though for us Arizonans.

January 7, 2017

January 7, 2017

We spent this day on the plane, or what was left of it until we crossed the International date line and jumped ahead a day.  We are taking China Airlines to the capital of China.  Not the big China, but the one the US no longer officially recognizes, the Republic of China, more commonly known as Taiwan.  After WWII, when control of China was up for grabs, Mao and the Communists carried the day. Chiang Kai Shek fled here with his faction.   

It is a grueling 15 hour flight made worse because we have middle seats in the middle section.  Ugh!

January 6, 2017

January 6, 2017

….and we are off.  The first leg of this very long travel episode is a flight from Tucson to LAX.  We saw TV crews in both airports interviewing security. I guess after the shooting in Florida, everybody wants to know if it can happen at their airport. Thankfully we arrived uneventfully in Los Angeles and were greeted with a colorful sunset.  Not Tucson quality but it made for a nice contrast with the city lights.  

We had a pizza and beer dinner and then endured a long TSA line and six-hour layover before boarding our near midnight flight.  Aimee and I are hoping we can get some sleep on the plane.

December 17, 2016

December 17, 2016

We flew in and out of Phoenix this trip.  Because a new snowstorm was imminent, we took advantage of United Airlines’ offer and flew home last night arriving late.  Since we no longer like to drive at night we stayed in town and now have the day free in Phoenix.  We take advantage and make the 30-minute drive to Taliesin West in Scottsdale.  This was the winter home of Frank Lloyd Wright.  Many years ago we toured his home and studio in Oak Park outside Chicago. He is arguably America’s most famous architect and is widely known for his unique ‘prairie style” designs.

We sign up for the 90-minute tour and since we are early it turns out to be a private one with a very knowledgeable guide.  Wright came out here after suffering a bout of pneumonia.  The site started as a winter camp, but since it was the Depression and his income was meager, he moved his architecture school out here and used the free labor of his student apprentices to build the complex.

Wright believed in building in harmony with the environment.  All the walls are constructed of local stones bound by cement and integrate well with the surrounding desert. The tour starts with his personal living quarters and then moves on to the public spaces.  Interestingly there is nary a right angle to be found.  Even the doors are weirdly shaped.  I almost felt like I was in the land of Hobbits.

Taliesin West remains the home of Wright’s architecture school and apprentices still live and study here.  Near the end of the tour we get invited to join the Wright Foundation.  Aimee thinks it is a good investment because we are planning a trip back to the Midwest this fall where we can tour several more sites for free if we join.  I must have had a weak moment as I agree. 

From Scottsdale, we head south back towards Tucson.  About halfway we exit arriving at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.  We visited this site in 2001 during an early scouting trip to Arizona.  It is an opportunity to stretch our legs and soak up the sunshine.

The ruins consist of a village of the Hohokam, ancestors of the Pueblo Indians.  The Hohokam learned not only to survive but thrive in this harsh desert environment.  Besides hunting small game and gathering cactus fruit and mesquite pods, they built an extensive network of canals off the small Gila River that allowed them to grow corn, beans and squash.

The village consists of a large walled rectangular compound with several interior buildings including one four-story Great House.  All the Hohokam villages were abandoned some 500 years ago.  No one knows why but, to me, the high walls suggest danger from some enemy.  Perhaps it was the Navajos or Apaches, nomadic raiders, who migrated here, and found the Hohokam farmers easy targets.

December 11, 2016

December 11, 2016

We are heading back to Chicago this week at the same time as a brutal cold spell descends on the city.  We are going to attend the funeral of my “Irish” uncle from Aimee’s side of the family.  He was a very nice man who we spent many happy holidays with over the years.  We are so glad we made the effort to see him this past summer.  The one bright spot is we also get to talk with relatives we haven’t seen in some time.  The bone-chilling temps and snow are also a painful reminder of why we moved away.

October 5, 2016

October 5, 2016

The last time we were at the North Rim in 2008, we gave it the short shrift because of the remoteness of the location and the lack of available RV camping.  So before leaving, we spend the morning exploring.

Our drive takes us 23 miles through a very hilly pine forest studded with the now golden autumn leaves of Quaking Aspens.  We dead-end at Point Royal at the tip of a long peninsula of land jutting out into the canyon.  On the return we stop at three more lookouts.  Each one has a different view of the Canyon.

We also stop at the ruins of an Anasazi Pueblo.  These ancestral residents lived at the rim in summer and farmed a creek delta on the Colorado during winter.

We spend the rest of the day making the long drive back to Tucson. Our only stop was to take some photos of the Aspen colors.

October 4, 2016

October 4, 2016

Because of logistics we had planned to hike back out the North Rim today.  That is where our car is, and where we have lodging tonight.  After assessing our aches and pains we don’t know if we can do the uphill fourteen miles before darkness and frigid temperatures set in.  So we fall back to our original Rim-to-Rim plan and head up the South Rim via Bright Angel Trail.  There is a shuttle back to the North leaving at 1:30pm.  To make sure we catch it, we leave camp at 5:30 in the dim morning light.  Thankfully the trail rocks are whitish and have a ghostly aura.  We can find our way if we are careful.  When dawn breaks we pick up the pace and take shorter breaks than normal.  We make it to the top in a personal record of six hours.

At the rim we have our lunch while staring out into the canyon.  I never tire of the view from the South Rim.  It is truly majestic and awe-inspiring.

Halfway up the trail at Indian Garden, we got a cell signal and called the Trans Canyon shuttle for seats.  There are two available.  My lucky charm of a wife has still got it.  Despite the high cost and the 4.5-hour length of the shuttle ride, we are ecstatic.  We don’t think we could have walked another step.  We have a great conversation with two of our fellow passengers and the long drive seems to fly by.

October 3, 2016

October 3, 2016

With no TV and no Internet we were in bed early last night.  And up early this morning.  After a quick breakfast we are dressed and driving to the North Kaibab Trailhead.  We are a little nervous.  It is below freezing, and the 8240-foot elevation of the North Rim makes even small chores exhausting.

Because the North Rim is higher and gets more rain than the South, it has eroded much farther from the Colorado River.  Which means the trail is 50% longer.  It will be our longest hike.  I take a couple Aleve as a precaution hoping my hips will endure the downhill pummeling.

The first half of the trail is beautiful but does not come with the great expansive views we are used to on the South Rim.  On the other hand there is no crowd and we almost have the whole trail to ourselves.  We take it slow to avoid any slips that could cause us problems on this relatively remote section of the Grand Canyon. Parts of the trail are narrow and hug a cliff.  With the brisk wind, Aimee is nervous.

Cottonwood Campground at the seven-mile mark is halfway.  The final leg of the trail follows Bright Angel Creek another seven miles to the Colorado.  It is mostly flat eventually meandering its way through the Granite Gorge.  It seems to go on and on.  We are in no hurry so by all rights we should have slowed down and taken longer breaks.  Instead we push on and arrive at Phantom Ranch just before 2 pm.  We both have a cold beer in the Canteen.  Maybe that was why we hurried.

Fourteen miles of downhill is a killer and not surprisingly we are in bed right after our 5 pm dinner. Instead of the normal same-sex dorm, we have a four-person cabin all to ourselves.  We are living!

October 2, 2016

October 2, 2016

Aimee’s birthday is coming up soon.  She loves hiking the Grand Canyon so she has been calling to get a cancellation at Phantom Ranch.  Unsuccessfully!  I have wanted to do a new variation, hiking rim to rim instead of down and up the South Rim.  I am feeling a little pressured, as the North Rim will be closing for the winter in less than two weeks.

We learned a flash flood recently wiped out a section of the Bright Angel Trail so the mule rides (and their Phantom Ranch cabins) have been cancelled for two days.  Knowing the bureaucratic Park Service will need to have lots of meetings before repairs are completed, we get a cancellation at the North Rim Lodge and jump in the car.  We spend all day driving the eight hours to the complete other side of Arizona. 

Aimee called early this morning and got second place on the Phantom Ranch waiting list for tomorrow.  We cross our fingers.  I know they cancelled the Mule Rides again, so we should be good.  In the meantime we do a little exploration walking out to Bright Angel Point to soak up the beauty and the refreshingly cool, almost cold, weather.  The North Rim is a surprisingly compact tourist area.  With the tiny number of visitors it seems quaint and rustic in comparison to the South Rim.

After dinner we call the transportation desk and we snag a room at Phantom Ranch.  Yes!

August 27, 2016

August 27, 2016

This morning we are docked back in Seattle.  The disembarkation process is easier as we can relax on the ship until our number is called.  Then we just walk down the gangplank and board our bus back to the airport.  Our luggage is handled for us.

The flight back to Phoenix was clear the whole way which could have made for great pictures as we crossed over the Grand Canyon and the red rocks of Sedona.  Alas, my window was nearly completely hazed over.  With some struggle I found just the right spot to get a nice picture of 14,400 ft. Mt Rainier.  Do Seattleites know it is a volcano?

August 26, 2016

August 26, 2016

This is another sea day. Instead of relaxing, we spent the day partaking in ship events. We listened to a talk on the early exploration of Alaska, watched a magician perform sleight of hand, and joined a trivia contest (which we won!). In between we walked the deck for exercise. In the afternoon we went to the Crow’s Nest bar for Happy Hour where we cruised right across a dozen pods of Humpback whales! We finally found the mother lode! Still, from the top deck of a cruise ship we are still far away.

At dinner time, we pulled into the town of Victoria, capitol of British Columbia. We are only going to be here a few hours. I thought it was a crazy stop until I realized that stopping in a foreign port (Canada counts) means the ship can be foreign-flagged and employ low-cost Filipino labor.

We took a short taxi into downtown and walked past the government building and into the Empress Hotel.  This 100 year old structure is a designated National Historic Site of Canada because it has played host to countless kings and queens and movie stars.  Downtown Victoria is a hubbub of activity and beautiful set against a tiny harbor.  We have a leisurely walk back to the ship.  The weather is delightful and Aimee and I are thinking this walkable city would be a great place to live in the summer.

August 25, 2016

August 25, 2016

We awoke in the port of Ketchikan at the southern tip of the Alaskan Panhandle. Contrary to its reputation as the rainiest spot in the US, the sky was clear.  It is a gorgeous day. Up early and finished with breakfast, we gave ourselves the walking tour. We started at the point Ketchikan Creek enters the bay.  Here the small stream is lined with ‘turn of the century’ wooden houses on stilts.  In its heyday, this was the red light district where the few women living here entertained their clients.
  

Further along, the creek climbs a series of waterfalls where we watch salmon hurl themselves upstream.  A seemingly impossible task.  Yet we find dozens in the quiet areas above the cataracts. Even these have to be careful as we watch more than one get swept back below.  The goal of all these salmon is to return to the place of their birth, and in their last breath, spawn a new generation. The Salmon Hatchery is closed for remodeling so we return downtown and visit the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center where we learn about the Alaskan Rainforest and the bounty it provides the state. Afterwards we do a little shopping and then return to the ship for lunch.

After lunch the ship left port and began the long journey back to Seattle. One fond memory Aimee has of our last cruise to Alaska was the gifts the cabin steward left on our bed every night. Yes, there was a piece of chocolate, but also a towel elaborately folded into some animal shape. Aimee loves the monkey, the elephant, and the moose.

August 24, 2016

August 24, 2016

This morning we awoke in the port of Sitka, the first capital of Alaska.  Sitka has a long pre-American history that we are going to explore. After taking a shuttle into town, our first stop is Sitka National Historical Park where we join a ranger walk. She teaches us about totem poles, an art synonymous with the Indians native to the Alaskan peninsula.

An early governor of Alaska noticed these monumental tree carvings were disappearing, so he started acquiring totem poles for display at the 1804 St. Louis World's Fair.  Afterwards they were brought here. Our walk in the rain forest takes us past the collection.  The meaning of the characters on totem poles has been lost but archeologists believe they were carved either to tell a story or delineate an ancestry. During the talk we stop several times to watch bald eagles play in the trees above our heads. We end our walk at the Indian River where we watch salmon spawning.

We then viewed the park movie where we learn the next phase of Sitka history. The Russians discovered Alaska in 1741, and developed a profitable trade in sea otter fur.  They built their capital here in Sitka, but not before having a war with the local Tlingits. In 1867 with the sea otter nearly extinct, Alaska was sold to the US.  When Americans discovered gold in Juneau, the capital was moved there, leaving Sitka a backwater.

From the park we visited the nearby Sheldon Jackson Museum.  It has an impressive collection of Alaskan Indian artifacts.  What we find most interesting are the garments they made to protect themselves from the extreme elements.  Waterproof outfits were made from sea lion intestines. 

After a speedy tour our next stop was the Russian Bishop’s House.  The lower floor is a museum where we learn more about the Russian history of Sitka.  We take a ranger tour of the upper floor where we step back in time to the Russian colonial period.  The Park System did a great job restoring the living quarters of this Orthodox Bishop whose diocese stretched from Alaska to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Asia.  His fine furnishings (e.g. English china, mahogany furniture) show world trade was brisk, and that even on the edge of civilization, one can live pretty well.

In the center of Sitka we stopped at St Michael’s Cathedral with its distinctive green onion-domed roof and wood cladding. The missionary work of the Russian bishop was pretty successful, as the Tlingit remain Orthodox Christians to this day.

While Aimee shops, I run down the street to climb Baranov Castle Hill State Historic Site.  This is where the Russians had their main fortification and where they officially transferred ownership of Alaska to the US. 

Back on board for a late lunch, our ship set sail at 3:30.  In the shallow waters off Baranov Island we saw lots of Sea Otters playing and floating on their backs.  We also saw whales!  Humpbacks! Their characteristic blowhole spray can be seen a mile off.  Then we waited for the tail to appear to start the next dive.  We even saw a couple humpbacks breach the surface.

For dinner tonight we got prime seats by the stern window.

August 23, 2016

August 23, 2016

With a recommendation by the Captain we got up early this morning for another round of whale watching. Armed with coffee, at 5am, we waited patiently for these goliaths of the sea to make an appearance. Nothing again.

An hour later our ship entered Glacier Bay National Park. A pea soup of fog and rain joined us immediately. We went for breakfast hoping the sun would burn it off.  It only got worse. A fellow passenger showed me magnificent photos from his prior visit.  We are missing beautiful scenery.  Curses!

Glacier Bay is a long fjord that is famous for its historical record.  When English explorer George Vancouver sailed by in 1795 at the end of the Little Ice Age, he found the bay completely filled with a glacier.  When John Muir came 80 years later to study the glacier, it had shockingly disappeared leaving a bay surrounded by eleven finger glaciers.

Two National Park rangers board the ship and provide a running commentary as we cruise 75 miles to the fjord’s terminus at Marjorie Glacier. Finding a spot sheltered from the misty rain, we watched it calve for an hour.  It was a letdown from our previous glacier experiences. 

On the passage out, the rain finally stopped, the fog lifted somewhat, giving us a glimpse of what we missed.  We discovered a rocky polychrome coast. Hillsides wiped clean of vegetation, and scarred with glacial scratches. A land trying to be reclaimed by fields of colorful lichen. We see three more receding glaciers. The blue-tinged ice of Lamplugh glacier just glistens. Beautiful!  

Near the mouth of the park, we pass Marble Island covered with harbor seals. We continued to watch from the comfort of deck chairs hoping for a whale. Where have all the whales gone to?

August 22, 2016

August 22, 2016

During breakfast we saw a humpback whale breach three times, so we eagerly spend the morning watching the sea. We see nothing more. Apparently that whale was teasing us.

After lunch, our ship arrived at our first destination, Juneau, the state capital of Alaska. Steep mountains and a huge ice field face Juneau, so it is not accessible by any road. You have to swim or fly to get here.   Juneau was on our previous itinerary so we just walked around town letting the girls shop.  Once past the tourist zone, we walked a couple blocks uphill to the capitol but find it closed and covered in scaffolding. On the return, we stop in the historic mining-era Red Dog Saloon for a beer with entertainment by a very amusing piano player. 

Just outside the ship, I check out the Mt Roberts Tramway and out of the blue somebody hands me two free tickets. So I grab Aimee and board this over-priced excursion. The aerial lift takes us 1800 feet up the hillside.  At the top we get great views of Gastineau Channel and a bird’s-eye shot of the four cruise ships at anchor. After a quick look around we are bummed to see a long line to get back on the tramway. It is very late by the time we make it back to the ship for dinner.

August 21, 2016

August 21, 2016

Today is a travel day.  And this is the kind of travel day anybody would like.  Not only are we letting somebody else do the driving, we are being pampered on the way. This is a sea day with our ship cruising north along the British Columbia coastline.  It was very relaxing, getting up late, having coffee delivered to our stateroom, reading the newspaper, and doing the Sunday Times Crossword. Interestingly the theme of the puzzle was the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service.  That is the main reason I chose this 7-day cruise through the Alaskan panhandle for our anniversary.  The Inner Passage has three National Park sites. Our first Alaskan cruise twelve years ago stopped at one, and this ship is the only one that visits the other two.

After a great breakfast, we were hoping to whale watch from the deck.  Unfortunately we are taking the open ocean route wide of Victoria Island and no marine life is to be seen. Instead we join a beer tasting event hosted by the Alaskan Beer Brewery. We also watched a short documentary about the Tlingit native people of Southeast Alaska and their efforts to maintain their dying language and culture.  Not surprisingly Tlingit youngsters are showing no interest in maintaining their ancestor’s Stone-Age arts.

After dinner we watched a dance and music variety show and then to complete the day, we were rewarded with a beautiful Sunset.

August 20, 2016

August 20, 2016

We are up way before dawn.  We grab a quick bite of breakfast and then stumble onto the shuttle to the Phoenix airport for our flight to Seattle.  We have clear skies but our route is over the mostly uninteresting landscape of eastern Nevada.  Only a few isolated mines, farms, and salt flats nestled amid low mountains.  A reminder that vast stretches of the West are largely uninhabitable. 

We landed in Seattle ready for a relaxing cruise away from the heat and to celebrate our 29^th wedding anniversary.  But we forgot what an ordeal it is to board a cruise ship. Getting 2000 passengers and all their baggage on in just a few hours is a major logistical effort. After retrieving our luggage, we endured one line after another to get transferred to the port and onto our vessel.  I guess they don’t call them ‘Cruise LINES’ for nothing.  

We arrive in our stateroom in the early afternoon.  Our first stop was the lunch buffet. Then an exploration of this small floating city, where each department tries to upsell us on their service. Cruise ships have taken a cue from the airlines trying to make extra profit on overpriced add-ons.

At 4pm the ship left Seattle and we watched the beautiful skyline fade away from the aft deck. We toasted our bon voyage with some Tucson friends who are joining us on our adventure.  They are also celebrating their anniversary.

August 19, 2016

August 19, 2016

I guess I did a good job working on our front yard beautification project, because I was released on good behavior for a short vacation.  We are heading north, way north, to find some much cooler weather and a break from Arizona’s unrelenting heat.  Since my furlough is limited, driving is out of the question; we are flying.  We leave tomorrow bright and early out of Phoenix, so we take advantage of an airport hotel’s Park and Fly program and drive up late this afternoon.

Since I am not one to go anywhere without a side trip, I do a quick scan of the Internet before leaving and find a curiosity that piques my interest.  Two hours later we pull into downtown Phoenix and find Wesley Bolen Memorial Plaza across from the state capitol. This little city park has a memorial to the sinking of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.  It is well done containing one of the two original anchors, the Signal Mast, and a recently added enormous gun barrel.  There is also an artsy display of all the names of sailors who perished during the attack.

Our planned 10-minute stop turned into an hour when we looked around and found dozens of other memorials, seemingly to every cause imaginable.  There are the standard ones to the wars we fought, but also some more unusual ones, like Armenian Genocide, the Navajo “code talkers” of WWII, Confederate soldiers, Pioneer women, Spanish missionary Fr. Kino, and not so surprisingly for conservative Arizona, a monument honoring the Bill of Rights.

 

July 2016

By mid-summer, Aimee and I are usually very tired of the Tucson heat and we are exploring cooler climes.  This year, the boss decided we need to spend less time travelling and more time fixing up our home.  She has cancelled my retirement and for the last month, has woken me at the crack of dawn and set me to toil away in the yard before the sun makes outdoor work untenable.  We are having a new driveway put in, so in preparation, we are trimming low hanging trees, and moving plants that are in the path of destruction.  Aimee and I are both amazed at how fast the vegetation grows around here despite the scant amount of rain we get.

Tucson yards mostly consist of decorative gravel instead of grass.  Over time, it gets worked into the soil underneath and needs to be replenished.  Since the front-yard rock is likely to be bulldozed over, Aimee puts me to work with a wheelbarrow hauling it all to the backyard.  After dozens of trips, we are pleasantly pleased how much doubling the rock layer improves the landscaping.

Usually after a couple hours of hard labor, I get released on good behavior and it is in the pool to cool off.  The rest of the morning is hibernation time inside with the A/C on high.  I can’t read all day, so we also rent movies. One day I select a Shakespearean play to pass the time. I like the idea of watching more of these famous stage productions but I am always disappointed.  I find them very hard to follow. Despite what some might say, the biggest reason is the words are not in English, or at least what I would call Modern American English.  This was made very clear when during the graveyard scene in Hamlet, a character said “willy, nilly”.  Wait a minute, the subtitles read “will he, nill he”.  I figured that couldn’t be a coincidence so I stopped the DVD and googled it.  Sure enough, that is the source of our modern use of 'willy, nilly'. Unfortunately besides the spelling the meaning also changed completely.  

Another summer diversion is watching the weather.  July and August is monsoon season. But unlike the Midwest these violent thunderstorms are very localized.  It can be sunny in the front yard with a downpour in the back.  These storms put on beautiful light shows against the mountains.  After one such storm made us beat a hasty exit from the golf course, I took the opportunity to capture a few strikes on photo.

The summer rain and heat also brings out lots of creatures that normally live underground.  Most of them thankfully come out after we are in bed. This year the variety seems to have shifted. Normally I find a scorpion drowned in the pool at least once a week.  They feed on crickets so Aimee and I have made a concerted effort removing bushes that need watering and foster cricket colonies.  This year, I have yet to find a single scorpion.  I started taking credit for their demise until seeing a uptick in tarantulas. Three times this month we have seen these big scorpion-eating predators. Tucson is nothing but a circle of life.  No sooner than I see more tarantulas, I notice tarantula wasps invading the yard, followed by insect eating bats roosting behind every clock and decoration hanging from our exterior wall.