On our stop in Skagway, we decided to do an excursion to the Chilkat Eagle Reserve out of Haines Alaska. We went by ferry down to Haines along the Ling Canal, actually the longest fjord in Alaska. Our great guide Russ navigated us down the river where our driver Lindsey picked us up for a nature viewing stop and lunch.

River Rafting was smooth and Beautiful!

Lovely day… fishing for Walker,  Whale watch for me!  Then a delicious Salmon Bake and a walk around town on our way back to the ship

The harbor and Beautiful eagles watching over it

We also checked a crab pot, looking for invasive species, luckily none there

Our first port of call on this northbound sailing is Ketchikan. The guys, Emmett and Walker, headed out at 6:15 for a salmon fishing excursion

I did a sea kayak excursion. Since there were 2 solo paddlers, Paul from Brisbane, and me, we were matched up in the 2 person kayak. We paddled along the sea star covered rocks along Knudsen marina, crossed over the channel to Eagle Island and saw the huge nest built there many years ago. It is still used yearly by a mate pair of Bald Eagles. One was high on a snag on a neighboring island. We also caught glimpses of a couple harbor deals and a couple stellar sea lions.

Leaving Vanvouver Bay, the sail away party. Warm and sunny here!

Our cruise to Alaska is beginning in Vancouber BC. In 2 days we traveled by Planes, Trains, and Automobiles PLUS cruise ship!

Our ship is the Sapphire Princess! And we are splurging on a suite! It is better for 3 when we are traveling with a grand! Walker is with us on this trip!

Perks include specialty dining and even canapés in the room! I could get used to this!

We have spend a very busy, but fun week with the grandsons in Nebraska for Dawson’s Graduation and the end of their track season! Both Dawson and Tucker qualified at the districts for state competition in Omaha next week!

Graduation in small town America is a huge event. The whole community participates. Each classmate has photos projected during the ceremony along with a bio on their plans for the near future! Folks with no graduate in the class will still stop by your reception for some goodies and reconnecting with neighbors and friends.

Party. Party, party!

I’m already missing the bird song, the waves lulling me to sleep! But we have only a month to pack for the next trip so we had to come home. Stayed tuned!

The Royal Princess, christened by the then HRH Duches of Cambridge, now HRH Princess Katherine of Wales. 3600 passengers could be dumped onto the streets of little Kona. Good day to stay at the pool!

And the next day, we saw 4 whales traveling together, surfacing and diving together in the area between where this shop is moored and our pool area! I love watching the whales!

Well, while we are enjoying the sun in Hawaii, we are planning 2024 travel! Just a quick preview.

We have a couple Viking cruises in March and April, planned while we were in Antarctica…. we are going to see the northern lights in March and possibly making a pre cruise stop in Iceland. Then we fly to Portugal for the Duoro River trip and seeing the country and maybe northern Spain.

Today we added 2 singing tours with our Chorale, Washington DC on the 4th of July weekend to sing at Kennedy Center. In October s we are singing at Ryman Center in Nashville with some sightseeing and family visits while we are there.

We also added another week in Kauai in 2024, now 2 weeks at the point at Poipu before we return to Kona and our favorite there, the Royal Sea Cliff for another stay of we hope at least 3 weeks!
Retirement is good!