Thanksgiving in Juneau

Since our good pals Pat & Jackie moved to Alaska about 2.5 years ago, we've had it on our list of places to visit. The perfect opportunity came up as we achieved a level of frequent flier miles that enabled us to both purchase round trip tickets for a grand total of $10 each, and realized all 4 of us would have days off during Thanksgiving week. By using just a few vacation days, we were able to spend a whole week up in Juneau.

 

We nearly missed our flight. Since our miles were through American but the flight was on Alaskan, we had troubles checking in online and at a kiosk. The line to the counter was a mile long at the airport, held up as an English-challenged family headed to Bangkok coordinated their travel and per-person payment for a cart-full of chair-sized luggage. Since we had no checked luggage, I decided to take my chance on a much shorter line for people who already paid for baggage and just needed to drop it off. The clerk nearly skipped over me, but after some speaking up she listened to my plea and got us taken care of in about 2 minutes. Our flight was way into boarding, but we made it! And the rest of the journey to our destination (first view shown above!) was smooth.

Jackie welcomed us to the area immediately by taking us to the Alaskan Brewery taproom where they serve up to 6 free tastings per person. We followed that up with lounging, appetizers, and a waterside view in the Hangar by the Wharf until Pat met up with us. The remainder of the weekend was spent very comfortably at Pat & Jackie's cozy cabin, where we took a dip in the wood-fired hot tub, watched the Packers game, and were treated to 5-star cooking.

Pat & Jackie had to work the first part of the week, but let us borrow a car to go explore. Our first activity (and we were accompanied by Barley, their black lab) was supposed to be a hike up Perseverance Trail, but we accidentally took a wrong fork and ended up going through a charming bit of rainforest and a slippery bank to some mining ruins where we're pretty sure a hobo was taking refuge. We found the proper trailhead after backtracking, and while we didn't have time to complete the whole path before dusk hit, we got far enough to seem some beautiful scenery.

The wind was so severe at one point (it made it hard to breath), that we nearly turned around. But true to the name of the trail, we persevered a bit further knowing there would be a view of some falls up ahead.

Patrick was planning to buy a pair of skis from Pat, so our lovely hosts took a half day off on Tuesday so he could test them out. The slope where Pat does ski patrol (Eagle Crest) wasn't open yet, so we had to hike up the 1400 ft hill since the lifts weren't in operation. I snowshoed up alongside them- we all got a good workout!

 

And the view at the top was an acceptable reward for our efforts!

 

We made it just in time to see sunset over Admiralty Island.

 

We loved the gradation of colors on the opposite side of the sky, after we turned around to come back to ski (or jog, in my case- it was fun!) down the slope. Patrick needs some practice (we are ski novices), but he clearly enjoyed himself since he's asked me a few times since, "When are we going again???" :)

Wednesday morning we took it a little easier, by visiting the Mendenhall Glacier. Magnificent, and the ice is so blue! 

Perks of winter: it was so nice to avoid the crowds of tourists that must be there in the summer (we had the place almost completely to ourselves) and we also had the chance to walk past the end of the path on part of the frozen marsh/lake for a closer look.  

The video quality will probably be greatly diminished on this blog, but if you click on it, you might be able to get a slight idea of my perspective of the falls adjacent to the glacier.

That afternoon, Pat & Jackie left work early again, as they had reserved Windfall Cabin for us to stay overnight in. We had a 3-mile fairly flat trek through a gorgeous snow-scape to get there. 

The perspective from one of the bridges we crossed. It was nice being in a true winter scene since I don't experience that much anymore.

 

As we neared the cabin, we noticed we were following the frozen footprints of a bear. They look just like the cartoon drawings of a bear print. :)

 

Our lodging for the night! We stayed warm with a wood-fueled stove and entertained ourselves reading and writing in the guest log book between tricks of playing cards.

After a breakfast incident involving Hollandaise sauce going everywhere (hehe) we had to hit the trail again pretty promptly because it was Thanksgiving!

Pat & Jackie's friends, Bri & Glen, hosted us, where we had dinner and a sleepover in style. Turkey cooked on the smoker, cute cranberry tarts, and stuffing made from scratch were a few of the menu items, and we all had a lot of fun playing active games on the Kinect.

The rest of our time followed suite with a relaxing agenda. The Public Market (a giant 3-day craft fair where people from the region come to sell their wares) was going on so we visited that twice, the Pats brewed a jalapeno ale, we hit the bowling lanes, and dined out on a delicious wood-fired pizza.

Juneau threw us a fitting goodbye by delaying our take off a couple hours since the incoming plane couldn't land in the wind and had to temporarily go to the next nearest airport. But it wasn't too much of an inconvenience, and certainly not enough to spoil our memories of a fabulous visit with great friends!

Climbing- a Forgotten Pleasure

As Atalie mentioned in her Santa Cruz "girls weekend," I went to Arkansas to climb with some pals (Pat, Jackie, and Derek) in mid October.  We were all in need of a vacation and what better way to spend it than with good friends and no cell service!  

I left on a Tuesday and returned on a Monday (not as planned but it worked out).  P, J, and I all arrived in St. Louis and jumped in a rental car.  "Jumped" might not be the right word since it took some Tetris skills to make everything fit nicely.  Turns out, climbing/camping trips demand a lot of gear.  We grabbed some dinner and drove down to Springfield, arriving at our friend's Matt and Jen's house about 1 am.  After stocking up on groceries and visiting some local favorites (Bass Pro, Brown Derby, and Buckingham's BBQ) we headed south for Sam's Throne.  The next two and a half days (Th, Fr, 1/2 of Sat) were filled with good times, little sleep, tired arms, and lost fingertip skin.  Derek had been the only one that had recently climbed so we were all a bit rusty but had a blast regardless.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy climbing and how therapeutic it can be to "get away."  

Here are some of my photos (with a couple from Pat and Jackie's stock):

Pat standing on the bluff with Sam's Throne in the background on Wednesday afternoon and a storm on the horizon.

Jackie under the tarp- borrowed from Matt and Jen- during the storm Wednesday evening.  It was nice to see a real thunderstorm with tornado watches.  We don't get that here in CA.

Derek met up with us Thursday morning after driving most of the night from TN.  We hadn't seen him since he moved to TN for grad school (a couple months before we left for CA)-  a LONG time!  Here he is near the top of one of the tallest routes in Horseshoe Canyon, "Orange Crush" (90 ft).

Pat resting on the rope while belaying at Sam's Throne.  Tisk, tisk.  :-)

Pat just before he came off the wall while attempting the crux of "White Trash."

Jackie in her beloved hammock trying to stay warm on the shaded side of the Throne.

The four of us on top of the Throne for lunch.  Fall colors creeping in among the trees in the valley below.

Me working on "VD" at Cave Creek with Pat on belay.  It was hard work!

The four of us at the end of our climbing for the week.

I was supposed to fly back on Sunday but my flight got canceled because AA broke their plane.  No problem, though- I got to spend another day with Pat and Jackie and got a voucher to use at Christmas!  Win-win!

We're looking forward to doing it again next year!

Girls' Weekend in Santa Cruz

Patrick took the third week in October off to use up some of his accumulated vacation time to meet friends in Missouri/Arkansas for a climbing trip (he'll post a blog about that soon). I was not able to go, but I was able to take Friday the 19th off for an extended getaway weekend in Santa Cruz. Our friend, Sarah, invited me over for a girls' weekend, and I think we did it up pretty well!

An organic apple orchard owned by Cal Poly is up the main road near Sarah's house. It was nearing the end of the season and approaching closing time, so we had the you-pick place to ourselves. Picking apples in the tucked-away wooded valley, with a crisp temperature and fading sunlight, made it feel more like a Midwest fall.

A great haul and beautiful harvest!

Later that night we visited a tiny nearby town to see two Celtic-rock type bands, 'Brother' and 'Tempest'. I wasn't used to dancing to that, but the music was pretty entrancing, so we couldn't help but spend most of the time on the dance floor.

 

 The next day we used two free tickets to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, courtesy of Justin's (Sarah's husband) boss who is a member/donor.

 

The aquarium does an expert job illuminating the tanks and creating an engaging experience. This circle-shaped room had a tank around the whole ceiling with a giant school of shimmering fish circling overhead.(Unfortunately, the video quality was reduced to crap when I uploaded it, but maybe you can still imagine the effect.)

A lot of the birds were "refugees" recuperating from injuries- we saw some hopping around on one foot.

 

 Stunning colors and textures!

 

Just like a painting- it was magnificent natural art.

The seahorse exhibit was fascinating- they are cute, bizarre, and legendary all in one. I really enjoyed this colorful, dragon-like one.

 

Jellyfish aren't something I ever thought much of except in a negative context. Turns out there are some absolutely exquisite varieties that when lit up and displayed as they were in the aquarium, were astounding. I felt like I was in a 360-degree x-ray machine in this room. :)

 

It's amazing the amount of detail and texture there appears to be on these mobile slime blobs!

 

There was a button  you could push to turn the light out on the tank to see how difficult it would actually be to spot these guys in the water. You forget while window shopping here, that you used to find these guys scary, but the loss of visibility reminded me momentarily- it would be easy to run into their stingers without warning!

Their swimming is pretty entrancing as well. The rippling effect of the tentacles is quite beautiful, like silk ribbon or chiffon manipulated by a dancer's graceful movements.

Sarah noticed that every now and then, you'd find one or two of these guys that appeared to be bouncing right on point with the music! :)

I watched two jellyfish in a different tank to see if when they swimmed in opposite directions, they'd be pulled back toward one another, or a tentacle would rip off. But the appendages just slipped loose and they were on their merry way!

Looks like it needs some Clear Eyes. :)

 I can totally see why blown glass is the right medium to portray them.

We spent enough time pouring over these and other creatures (like sharks, tuna, penguins) that we closed out the place, and then we spent a little more time ducking into shops on the way back to the car. By the time we drove back to SC, picked up groceries for dinner and popped in our movie, it was pretty late. Sarah worked on prepping apple pie as we watched the tube, but it was about 2am when we finally ate a piece. I went to bed at nearly 3am. A true sleepover, like I hadn't done in years, in good fashion for a girls' weekend!

Not surprisingly, I was a bit slower going the next morning. But it was a beautiful day, so we took her two giant malimuts for a walk, then headed for a walk of our own through Henry Cowell State Park to admire the redwoods and serene atmosphere.

 

This seemed like a great perch to spot Peter Pan. Or perfect placement of a treehouse, for the more practical thinker. :)

When my mom and one of my sisters visited, I told them about the vampiric albino redwood at this park that I had read about. They looked all over for it and hiked the loop a couple times before finding this little ashen sprout. As usual, external appearance shouldn't be all there is to the cool factor!

 

Patrick and I have posted a picture of a banana slug in the past, but I couldn't help refreshing your memories!

After spending the rest of the day shopping in downtown SC, I headed back to Merced pretty late, arriving at about 11 at night. I would have left earlier but Patrick's flight was canceled and delayed a whole day, so I decided I might as well take advantage of the extra time I was given before my weekend ended. :)

September Highlights

Will we ever catch up the blog again? Not likely, but I'll try anyway. Looking back at September, here are some of the highlights:

Patrick turned 29! Aditi had promised to make us an Indian meal before she left the States, so what better time to have it than a birthday meal?

We didn't have all the right kitchen equipment, but we did our best to identify substitutes. She used it as her disclaimer for it not turning out quite right. My rebuttal was that the only Indian food we usually have is in a foil packet that we throw in hot water for 5 minutes. Her food was MMM MMM GOOD!

 

Patrick's dessert of choice was devil's food cake, so with Betty Crockers' boxed help, I accommodated his wish. Hopefully his candles will pull through for whatever b-day wish he was aiming for here!

He had a nice little stack of gifts to open, and so far they've all been put to good use too!

Aditi had seen in the movies the "bite lime, take shot, lick salt" method for tequila, so we thought we'd surprise her with an authentic celebratory example.

The next day we drove to Santa Cruz for our friend Sarah's wedding on Four Mile Beach at Wilder Ranch State Park. We were a little concerned we wouldn't make it in time when we hit traffic, but turns out the groom was about half an hour late, and the bride was an hour late (poor Sarah- she was ready on time, but at at mercy of her lagging family members). Everyone ended up being chilly after the long exposure to the ocean draft, but we certainly couldn't complain about the scenery!

The little things that go wrong don't end up mattering much anyway. This is what it's really about! :)

Sarah & Justin's reception was at the University of Santa Cruz Arboretum, which is home to many exotic and unique plants. Even though you could tell it wasn't in-season for most of the fauna, there were still lovely sights to be had along some of the paths we strolled.

....and unusual sights too! I told Patrick this makes me think of something that would be in a muppet movie.

Most of these dry-honeycomb looking plants were brown, but a few were bright yellow and really stood out.

The light of the sky as it approached dusk really accentuated the sunset colors of these flowers.

The centerpieces, decor, everything really captured all the elegant, and none of the cliche, elements of a nature-beach-themed wedding. But there was also a child-like touch to the cake table....literally. :)

 

We had a really fun time at the wedding! Patrick chatted with Justin's friends in a softly lit outdoor courtyard with local brew, and I jammed the night away with Sarah's dance-crazed family. But the three of came together later for a photo finish.

The following Saturday (October 29) was Love Merced- a grassroots style, community care day spreading throughout the Central Valley. It began as Love Modesto by the pastor of a church there, and other nearby cities' church's hopped on board. Even though it is fueled and promoted in large part by church's (that's why we were involved- with our church), it is hoped that lots of organizations and people will get caught up in the movement. Patrick promoted it throughout his department at work and was able to recruit a few of his colleagues, and a professor that baited about a dozen of her students with the promise of extra credit. We all worked together on trash cleanup of a sizable section of Bear Creek running through town.

There was a snag partway through the morning though. Patrick's coworkers Gesha (red shirt), Tyler (unseen in waders in the creek) and myself (middle of the photo) pulled a shopping cart out of the creek and got it up the steep bank. Gesha went back down to grab some trash, but with all the thick brush we were walking on, it was impossible to speculate he would step into a yellow jacket hive. He got my attention when he cursed and started racing up the hill, but I didn't book it myself until the swarm started coming for me too. Tyler ended up submerging himself in the murky waters to escape. Thank goodness none of us were severely allergic, but you never know when you get stung that many times. After we regrouped and Patrick killed the bees stuck in my hair :-/, we began popping benadryl tablets just in case. (When we counted at home, there were about 12-15 on my body, and although it was hard to identify how many were on my scalp, we guessed there were probably about the same amount on my head. I was sore the first day, extremely itchy the second, and about five days later I went in to the doctor because my lymph nodes in my neck were swollen. But luckily everything soon subsided.)

Tyler went home since he was soaked, but Gesha and I were dry so we powered through the pain and drowsiness to help the group retrieve more carts out of the creek. It was actually pretty tricky in places.

After a shower (and a nap!), Patrick and I picked up Aditi for one last outing before her plane left the following day. We took her to Merced Fruit Barn to see the emus (pictured in a prior blog), Daisy the llama, goats, potbelly pigs and other critters while we enjoyed treats from the ice cream stand.

It was sad to say goodbye to Aditi as we felt like we were just becoming a lot more comfortable and close with each other, but at least we have a lot of good memories from the month in general to brighten our spirits!

Yosemite Valley North Rim Hike

Labor Day weekend was the culmination of my church men's summer group that was designed to "stretch" a group of men spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically to become or be better leaders.  The physical part of the stretch was a 31 mile hike along the north rim of Yosemite valley.  In short, it was awesome.  It was a challenge (more so for some than others) but very rewarding.

We left the church parking lot on Friday afternoon with the goal of getting 4.5 mile hike to our first night's camping spot.  The drive, however, proved to be about as exciting as the whole hike.  A woman driving in the opposite direction rounded a corner too fast, lost control of her car, and went over the side of the road, landing about 100 feet from it and down next to the river 30 feet below the road surface.  We were flagged down by another driver on the side of the road right after it happened.  The car landed on it's side facing away from us so we couldn't see the status of the driver inside.  Six or seven of us made our way down the bank toward the car, which approaching was a test of nerves for us.  I'm sure each of us considered turning around and running back up the bank at some point during the descent.  I wasn't the only one throwing a bunch of prayers upward that I be able to handle whatever I was about to find.  Of course, the pastor (mister fitness), another man (Tony- also mister fitness), and myself (not mister fitness, but somewhat agile) were the first down, although I'm not ashamed in saying I deliberately slowed down to let the pastor round the car first (I noticed Tony did the same).  We didn't know what we were going to find and would judge going around the corner based on the pastor's reaction.  The woman was relatively uninjured but quite shaken (not surprising).  We helped her out of the car and up the bank to a waiting ambulance (that happened to be passing by) and she was taken to the hospital.  Did I mention there was no cell service?  Who knows how long she would have been sitting on her side in the brush if the car following her hadn't stopped.  Once she was on her way to the hospital we got back on the road and got to the park only an hour behind schedule.

The hike went pretty well.  Several weeks leading up to the hike, Atalie and I "trained" by doing several day hikes and I think that made all the difference (that and my job).  Guys were in charge of bringing their own snacks and we all pitched in money for the meals.  However, the amount of snacks brought could have filled a 5 gallon bucket (overkill!)  I, of course, didn't bring enough snacks so got help all the other guys along the way with theirs.  By the end of it, we did 31 miles or so and the views along the way were amazing the whole time.  Time to drag Atalie along on it now... :)

I would have more pictures but getting them from the other guys is like pulling teeth...  oh well.

 The woman's car as viewed from the road.

The group (minus one) at Yosemite Point.

 Hanging out at Eagle Peak.  I'm not alone in thinking it was the best view of the valley in the park.

Walking up to the edge of Yosemite falls.  The water was really low.

View of North Dome with Mt Starr King in the distant left.