Great day fishing

We went fishing with Steve and Jane, and had a great day.  A little rain in the morning, but clear most of the afternoon.  We fished for halibut and salmon with the boat limiting out on both (2 halibut and 3 salmon per person).  We dropped it off to get processed and shipped to us at home.  A great day for photos including a rainbow and many glaciers in the hills.

Hubbard Glacier

The cruise ship visited Hubbard Glacier today and it was spectacular.  Weather and tide conditions control how close we can get and they said today was the closest they have been in a couple years, less than 1/2 a mile away.  The pictures do not really do it justice.  The ice is over 100 ft tall from the water.  Some of the pieces that broke off were the size of a house, with the commensurate crashing sound as it hit the water.  You will see the water splash below the picture,  quite a unique experience.

Skagway - Musher Camp

We arrived in Skagway and today's tour was highly recommended by multiple friends.  The sled dogs that do the Iditarod train in southern Alaska during the off season, and we visited the camp.  They pull cars with people in them and it has become a highly rated tour.  We learned a lot about sled dogs and the dedication of their trainers.  Highlight at the end was getting to hold 3 week old Alaskan husky puppies, what a treat.   A very fun day.

The special vehicle that took us up the mountain 

 Small stream we walked over packed with salmon.  

The most salmon in a river I have seen.

 Sled dogs pulling the cart behind

 Anne with a puppy

Jane with a puppy 

 Mark with a puppy

Second shot of Anne with a puppy 

Steve with a puppy, sorry he was cut out of the shot

Bear tour and city walk

The next stop on the cruise was Icy Straight, which was a very unique area.  The closest town of Hoonah only has a few hundred people, focused on fishing and tourism, with an impressive cruise terminal.   The city is the home of the Tlinket (pronounced Klinket) native american clan (they do not use word tribe).   Most of the activities were walking around the town and we took a bear watching tour, which gave us some great views of a brown bear.  Our guide taught us a lot about the Tlinket culture, including that everything (animals, plants) have a spirit, the bear being honored and never consumed, and how family lineage is derived from the mother's blood line, not the father's - though the father's blood line is most celebrated.  This is a culture that tells stories, very good ones, to teach life lessons.  A treat for sure!

House with nice fishing boat

 View of the former Salmon cannery that was converted as shops and 

restaurants, with our boat in the background.

 Bear walking up the river, more shots below as he passed our viewing area

Alaska Cruise - Ketchikan

Anne and I are on a week long cruise from Vancouver, BC to Seward, Alaska.   Steve and Jane are also on the cruise, which has been quite a treat.  First day was out at sea and the second was a port call to Ketchikan, Alaska.  We took the opportunity to get off the boat and walk around the town.  We saw some fly fishing, lots of stores and visited a totem pole historical museum.  It was overcast and intermittent drizzle, but actually quite pleasant.  We have been pleasantly surprised by the cruise.  We are not always thrilled to be on a boat, but the ship is great along with crew and service.

 Shot of the downtown area

 Lots of shore excursion options, the hard core ones went

 out kayaking in 55 degrees, yikes.

 We walked past a local in a river fly fishing for salmon.  He released it, but showed the 

crowd.  Steve looked like he wanted to bump him out of the way and grab his pole.

View of the ship in port.  Large, but does not feel too large.  

Wedding photos

There is always the tough question, where should you take your wedding photos, the church or in the garden?  How about Prague?  Every morning I go on my walk, I see multiple photo shoots of brides and grooms.  Always wonderfully dressed and with a complete crew doing the shoot.  When I asked out guide about it, apparently the vast majority are from South Korea where it is a new status symbol.    Couples are usually already married and come to Prague primarily for the photo shoot.  There is a very popular television drama called "Lovers in Prague" that is a young couple living in Prague and has generated the intense interest.  Pop culture is an interesting thing.

Getting ready to fly home

I fly out in the morning with mixed feelings.  It was a great time and I enjoyed spending time with Brittani and Kyle, but would have loved if Anne could have come.  Maybe next time with Bev and John (hint, hint).  I will admit up front, most of the photos below are re-runs on the blog, but when I post them, I normally do just a quick crop and and auto-adjust.  In this case, I took my favorite shots and spent some time to clean them up.  These are the highlights from the trip and I am pretty happy, they are keepers.

Mid-morning walk

I powered through being sad about losing my travel buddy's and decided to go on a long walk after Brittani and Kyle left.  I was not sure I had a long walk in me when I left, but I walked for 3 hours and did about 10 miles into a new part of the city I had not been.  Very nice, much of it was along the river.  For those who watched the original Mission Impossible movie, they claim to be in Trieste, but it was shot in Prague and the area I walked I could remember much of it in the movie.

Wenceslas Square

Goodby to Brittani and Kyle :(

Brittani and Kyle headed off for Cesky Krumlov on the train early this morning.  I saw them off in a cab heading to the train station.  I really enjoyed my time with them, what a treat.  It is hard to get time with your grown children once you live in separate cities, but where better to do it than Prague during a week of 70 degrees and sunny weather.  This is my favorite shot of them, I posted earlier with just a quick cropping, but had time to brighten up the colors.