This morning like most mornings we were scrambling to get out the door in time for school. This morning for some reason we did it with a few minutes to spare. On our way down the driveway we ran into this beauty.
This boy makes our heart so happy! ❤
Our middle schooler was over the moon to get his x country sweat shirt today. I think this might have made his week.... maybe even month.
We 💘 our runner!
We just got back from our annual fall boys camping trip for 2017.
Previous years:
A little later than average this year - Sept 30/Oct 1 and the weather was a little more cool and unsettled but still a great time. This year we were joined by PJ for the first time! Kelly was a little nervous about this but decided to ok it. The trip this year was via canoe upon request from Noah. The plan was to travel along an ~8 mile stretch of the Deschutes river from Tenino boat launch just below Wickiup reservoir to Wyeth boat launch just above Pringle falls. This stretch has no rapids and is a nice easy down-river float. Here is a map of the route and our selected primitive camp spot (blue dot) along the river.
We dropped one car at Wyeth and had Kelly drive us to the put in point at Tenino. Here we are at the put in and just starting down river.
We selected this camp spot about 2/3 down river to our exit as it was relatively remote. Had a great little eddy to pull the canoe into to unload.
I had a few new recipes I wanted to try on this trip. The first was pizza over a camp stove. I originally learned this with NOLS many years ago but haven't tried it recently. Chose to top it with peppercorn feta, kalamata olives, and arugula on half (for Noah and I). First pic is Hunter helping me by cutting up olives. Of course the trip wouldn't be complete without hot-dogs over a fire which we did later when the wind died down. I also cooked a peach cobbler for desert.
Here is a video of the kids throwing pin cones in the river on a walk for entertainment.
After a cool night we rose Sunday morning with a little rain to start but clearing to partly cloudy with a cool wind but not bad for October. For breakfast I made Fresh sourdough french toast with raspberries and pumpkin spice maple syrup along with a side bacon. It was tasty!
On Fridays the middle school students get to choose an elective to participate in. Hunter chose mountain biking this fall quarter. Here is a short video clip of him biking.
Hunter had his second race yesterday and did very well. It was in the 80's and hot for a fall day. Hunter finished the race and said, " Mom, I just love to run." We are so glad he has found something he enjoys so much. We are very proud of him.
His teacher from last year who is at a new school this year came out to cheer him on. She is a special lady.
The high pressure system continued in Alaska through the remainder of the week, and while we didn't get off the ship much due to work, their were still some good photo ops from the ship and in and around the port areas.
Sitka (Wed Sept 20)
It looked like a nice area to do some kayaking or fishing!
Ketchikan (Thurs Sept 21)
This was our original target debarkation port, however due to a US customers and border patrol rule called the Jones Act we were not able to debark. I took a couple hour break and walked around town, getting some items for the kids.
Hunter loves airplanes and their were a ton of float planes going in and out so made numerous attempts to get a video of one coming in passing by the ship.
Victoria BC (Friday Sept 22)
Friday was mostly a day at sea but the ship did hit Victoria BC around 6 pm where it stayed until 11 pm before making its last short leg to Seattle for Saturday morning. We had been working all day so I decided to get off for a walk around town to stretch my legs. Took this first shot just by the beach near the port. The second shot is of the BC capital building as dusk descends.
This has been the second half of a 2 week research trip. Last week we were on a ship that was sailing the east coast of Canada. This week the ship we were on was sailing to Alaska. I departed Seattle Saturday Sept 16. After a rough sea day sailing north on the 17, and some raining weather in Juneau the weather has been glorious and sunny since then.
Juneau (Monday Sept 18)
The objective target for Juneau was simply to find some fresh king crab for lunch and we found it at Tracy's King crab shack. While it looks extremely touristy from the outside and is right near the port, the crab was cooked to perfection. It was paired with some Alaskan Amber to make for a great Alaskan lunch.
Glacier Bay (Tuesday Sept 19)
Glacier bay is a National Park and best viewed by boat. On this visit the ship went to two primary glaciers. The first was the Grand pacific Glacier, and the second was the Johns Hopkins Glacier. Normally you cannot get close to the Johns Hopkins Glacier due to Seal nesting, however after Sept 1, this restriction is gone we we got a front door show of this amazing sheet of ice. Also when looking at the pictures and the size of the glacier, to give you a sense of scale, I was taking these shots from deck 10 of the ship which is at least 100 feet above the level of the sea. The captain did an amazing job of piloting this massive ship almost up on the glacier and then turning it in these narrow channels.
Grand Pacific Glacier
Johns Hopkins Glacier
Some additional great shots as the ship sailed out of Glacier bay in very nice sunny weather!
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Hunter and his friend Nathan joined the public school cross country team at High Desert Middle School. Hunter came in 24th place out of 90 for 6th grade. We are so proud of him!!!
The cross country runners wanted to end their day having Costco pizza and hotdogs for dinner.
Tonight at youth group the kids dressed up in 80's attire. Hunter is the one is the denim jacket and my old Oakley shades that I wore in high school.
Many know I work for Carnival Corporation - The cruise travel company. Many don't know that they actually have 9 different cruise brands around the world (Carnival Cruise lines is only one of these brands) with over 100 cruise ships. This month I had to do an extended two week trip to research two ships in the Holland America brand which first had me going to the east coast of Canada followed by a second week on a different ship to Alaska out of Seattle. I traveled with my work colleague and from LA - Ryan Fiorentino.
Here are a few pic's from the trip out east.While we worked a lot, we did try to get off a little at the different ports. Since the cruise started out of Montreal QC, I was able to get together with a couple of old friends of mine - Roger Berthelot and Elise Lacoste who are first met and worked with at my first job out of university - Deloitte Consulting in Ottawa. (first pic l-r Daniel (Elise's fiance, Elise, Roger, me), second pic me, Roger, Ryan on Mount Royal overlooking Montreal)
We sailed out of Montreal on Saturday Sept 9. First stop was Quebec City on Sept 10. A beautiful city that felt like Europe. First picture is the world famous Chateau Frontenac. The pano shot from the deck of the ship is taken along the St. Laurence river North east of Quebec city.
Sep 11 had us in Prince Edward Island for the day. We took a few hours off to rent a car and drive around the center part of the island. We were on a quest for fresh PEI muscles and we found them at a little place on the north shore in the middle of the island in a town called new Glasgow. Picture below is on the south coast with PEI's famous red mud cliffs at Argyle shore Provincial Park.
Sept 12 had us calling on Sydney Nova Scotia. We were working most of the day but did get off for a 30 min walk around the harbor as the weather was simply spectacular. Warm sun with a cool breeze. Exactly what you want in an early fall day in September. Second picture is from the ship as we made our way east from Sydney with the water like glass.
Sept 13 had us landing in Halifax Nova Scotia. While the ship was sailing on to Bar Harbor Maine and then to Boston, Halifax was our exit point for this journey. Friday September 14 I was flying back to Seattle to catch the next ship so spend an afternoon exploring Halifax. Again - simply beautiful weather.
Picture list:
1. - coming into the port of Halifax in the morning.
2,3 - Halifax Public Gardens
4 - View from the Citadel (old fort built by the british)
5 - Guard on duty at the Citadel... no talking or interaction with this guy
6,7,8 - The Halifax public library - an amazing piece of architecture. Not the 'piece' jutting out and overhanging. The picture of me inside the library if a seat in the corner sticking furthest out where I spent some time relaxing.
9 - A beer at the Halifax Alehouse - established in 1717.
