Juneau, Alaska

Friday, May 2, 2014 Juneau, Alaska

                                                            Sailing into Juneau
 After cruising through endless snow capped mountains and evergreens, the ship pulled into  Juneau dock around 1:00pm in the afternoon. Juneau became the capital of Alaska when it became a state in 1959. Population currently is 30,000 making it the third largest city in Alaska. Before that, Tlingit Indians inhabited the area. After lunch Larry and I strolled through this very western style town of shops, restaurants, galleries, and bookstores.

                                          
We bought tickets to go up the Mount Robert's Tram, owned and operated by Tlingit Tribe.

                                                             Inside the tram ticket office

Cool shot of the Tram and our ship!

 

The tram whisked us up 2800 feet above the city giving us tremendous views of the snowcapped mountains that nestle around the third largest city of Alaska. Juneau sits upon reclaimed mined land on the Gastineau Channel. The views were spectacular and even more enjoyable were the bald eagles that soared all around us. There was a great little nature shop to visit that actually had a bald eagle's nest on display....it was huge!

Paths lead off to the north and south on top of the mountain with lots of snow and mud. We can imagine that during the summertime, it would be wonderful to hike these trails. We also saw a short documentary  about the Tlingit Tribe.

                                              View from the top of Mt. Roberts Tram

                                                            Capital of Alaska, Juneau


After our ride back down the mountain in the 60 person tram, we walked the streets of Juneau. I can't begin to even comprehend living here. Although the streets have lots of cars and motorcycles going to and fro, the only way into Juneau is by float plane or boat.

I'm sure that during winter very few boats come and go...the cruise season ends in September. The road through the city and along the mountainside is 50 miles long so you have a very short distance to use an automobile; however, it has 300 miles of mining shafts.

                                       Famous Red Dog Saloon dating back to the late 1800's

We have been told over and over today how lucky we are to have such a beautiful sun shiny day! It sounds like most of the Alaska days are filled with rain and fog. We continue to feel very fortunate about having such great weather! 

Day at Sea on the Volendam

Thursday, May 1, 2014 Day at Sea
Great day at sea... lots of snow capped mountains, evergreen forests,  and blue waters. The best part was spotting the whales breaching and spouting in the morning, afternoon, and evening!

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday April 28, 29 and 30, 2014 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
It took us the whole day on Monday to arrive in Vancouver. Leaving Monday morning at 7:00am, we had a very nice ride into Sacramento. What mountain SCENERY! We caught our Delta flight in Sacramento that actually flew into LA where we boarded Alaskan Air into Vancouver, Canada arriving around 5:00pm. Both were relaxing calm flights. From the plane we got to see an amazing view of Yosemite National Park. From Vancouver Airport we took the Sky Train, a 30 minute ride, into the downtown area. From there we caught the city bus to our hotel, dropped off the luggage and took a walk, finding a local restaurant where we had some tasty fish and chips.

                                                Signs of spring were everywhere!

The next day we discovered this fabulous walkway that went on for miles and miles along the waterways around Vancouver. It was full of roller bladders, bikers, and joggers. We strolled it forever and wished we had had some bikes to ride.

The water views were wonderful. Out in the bays there were all kinds of ships, ferries, and lively rowing teams to watch. Where did the day go?

 

 

It sure flew by way to fast! That evening we found a great little waterfront restaurant that offered great views of the Vancouver Bay. Vancouver is a wonderful city. Snowcapped mountains beyond the skyscrapers...snow skiing is just 40 minutes away.


Limitless water sports and temperate climate. We were told that it rains a lot, but we again experienced FABULOUS weather.

Vancouver grew due to an influx of fortune seekers who came to look for gold along the Fraser River in 1857. By the end of 1858; 25,000 prospectors had settled into the area. The Canadian Pacific Railway and the excellent year round harbor opened this cosmopolitan city up to growing trade.

Wednesday morning, we climbed into a cab that spun us through the maze of high rises on a short ride to Canada Place, where our ship, the Holland America Volendam, was docked. Boarding was a breeze. Everything was well organized with minimal waiting time. Our ship was the second to sail out of Vancouver for this season. Sailing to Alaska is usually from the first of May to the end of September with over 200 sailings available during the season.

We LOVED Vancouver. It was a beautiful, clean city. No smog! Great views of water and mountains! Friendly people! The walkways that follow the waterways were trememdous! What a great idea to provide use of the waterfront for all to enjoy! The life of city convenience and tranquil country atmosphere were mighty close together to take advantage of. Larry and I enjoyed Vancouver so much that we have already started talking about coming back for another visit.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014 Happy Birthday Kristy!!!! Sail away from Vancouver, Canada
OH MY GOSH! Larry and I can hardly believe that we are cruising the inside passage to Alaska...This has been on our bucket list for a long time!

We passed through customs and then the ship check in with very little wait time. This ship is the smallest cruise ship that we have ever taken, holding only 1200 passengers. It was built in 1999 in Italy and was renovated in 2008.

Volendam I

                                                           Our ship...Volendam III


We loved our spacious room with a full size bath tub that was close to the elevator and stairs midship, right next to the centrum.

It had two pools...one on the back where a polar plunge was scheduled and one midship that had a retracktable overhead window to open on warm days and close on cool ones.

 

After finding our room we went to the outside 8th floor back deck for lunch with a great view of Vancouver city and the surrounding mountains.

We enjoyed an afternoon of pleasant temperatures (low 70) while watching numerous float planes take off and land while we were enjoying an iced tea on the back of the ship. The ship pulled out of the harbor around 5:00pm giving us a wonderful view of the 1000 acre Stanley Park. After dinner and a movie...we had a relaxing blissful sleep as the ship sailed into the night toward our first stop, Juneau, Alaska.

Passing under the Bridge to Stanley Park

 

                                                            So long to Vancouver.

Lake Tahoe, California

Monday, April 21-Monday, April 28, 2014 Lake Tahoe, California
Brisk breezes followed us down to the lake's edge for our morning walk...being at over 6000 feet up in the mountains causes the ticker to beat mightily, but the views of the lake were absolutely gorgeous especially with the snow capped mountains as a backdrop.

                                                        

We took several car trips out to explore the area. During our first trip we spotted a huge bear out in the field. He was munching away on something and wandered a bit closer to us while we were sitting in the car watching.

One morning we traveled across the Sierra Nevada Mountains into Carson City, capital of Nevada. Nice little town in a desert setting. Lots of modern shopping and a nice capital building...reminded us of the capitol of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Small and wide open to folks who want to stop in to say hello to the Governor.

                                                                   Nevada's Capital

From there we drove up to Reno, Nevada....a much bigger city with skycrapers and many casinos. It too was surrounded by desert with some nice snow capped mountains to the south. We wondered through a couple of casinos before heading toward the mountains.

Up the twisting road we passed the closest sky resort to Reno....Mt. Rose.     We also passed children sledding on the top of the mountain. Over the mountain top we enjoyed lots of evergreen scenery and of course the gorgeous Lake Tahoe.

 

Kristy, Brian, Kathy, and Chad arrived late Thursday evening. The next morning the snow arrived and continued all day long and into Friday night. It was a great day for just relaxing and enjoying each others company.

Saturday morning we awoke to find a fantastic winter wonderland...snow covered trees and glistening rays of sun. We loaded up the car and headed for Fallen Leaf Lake and an absolutely stupendous waterfall. We passed some terrific summer homes on a narrow one lane road surrounded by a fantastic pine forest covered in thick white snow.

At the head of the Fallen Leaf Resort was one of the most beautiful waterfalls that we have ever rested our eyes on. It was quite a sight!

On we journeyed several miles to Emerald Inlet, one of the most photograped areas of Lake Tahoe. A picturesque emerald green pond like area with a cute little island in the center. Another fantastic waterfall headed the beginning of the inlet. Were we fortunate?

                             Kathy practicing the Natarajasana Yoga Pose...Lord of the Dance
 
This waterfall was running full strength with the snow melt. Doubt that the falls would be this free flowing in the summer with the snow all melted.

After climbing all over the falls and a wonderful lookout point, we headed on to North Tahoe, past Squaw Valley Ski Resort and then on to Truckee, a smart little western town. After a stop for ice cream, we went to the Donnel State Park. The girls knew all about the family that had a harsh winter back in 1800's and wanted to see the park statue that commemorated this. After some great photos, we drove into the old town of Truckee, parked and wandered down the streets taking in all the quaint shops along the way. The afternoon sun provided the perfect temperature for a nice stroll around town.

                                             Truckee is a nice old western town....
.

                                                 Kristy always loved climbing over rocks!

Again we loaded up in the car and headed to the east side of the lake, taking in the views of Tahoe State Park. We parked the car here and hiked down to the lake, getting some great shots of the sinking sun on the western side of the lake.

We also learned about the fish and the clearity of the lake. From here the car headed back to South Tahoe and our cozy home to have a dinner of pulled pork barbecue waiting for us in the crock pot.

That evening we watched the movie, "Saving Mr. Banks", Good little true tale of Walt Disney and the making of "Mary Poppins".

The next morning the girls surprised me with an early Mother's Day celebration breakfast of Heuvos Rancheros and homemade Cinnamon Buns. Yum yum! After breakfast we had a nice little walk to the beach and then to the city park.

 

Amazing how spring returned so quickly!

 

The girls also treated us to a trip on the Tahoe Queen, a paddle boat that scooted across Lake Tahoe to Emerald Bay sharing lots of information about the history of the lake.

 

 

What a relaxing afternoon! I have to be the luckiest mother in the world to have two great daughters to treat me to such an absolutely wonderful day! That evening we went home to eat Chicken Enchiladas that I had made up the day before everyone arrived! Although Kristy's birthday was three days away, we had a celebration birthday cake for her....Chocolate Cake with candles and Strawberry Shortcake! Now how do you choose which one to sample? Easy...a small piece of both!

What a great week in Tahoe! Were we fortunate to enjoy both warm sunny days and a great snow covering for a few of days! We all enjoyed our California get together. It sure did go by way too quickly. On Monday morning, everyone was heading in a different direction. Larry and I drove out to Sacrament for our flight to Vancouver, Canada to catch the Holland America Cruise Ship, Volendam which was taking us to Alaska. Chad and Kathy were heading to Sacramento to catch their flight to Santa Ana and then head back to San Diego for the beginning of their 10 day work week on San Clemente Island. Kristy, Brian, and Molly were heading to wine country, Napa Valley and then on to meander down the beautiful California Route 1 as a celebration for Kristy's birthday. Sometimes I feel like we all are the luckiest people on Earth!