Sunny Saturday Seattle with a side of Starbucks

Before our cruise adventure began, we had two wonderful visits and meals with our Houston friends, Dick and Cain.  We have texted each other during the cruise plotting our 48 hour return to Seattle post cruise.  On Friday, about the time we were drying out our umbrellas from the ferry ride and robbery (aka cab ride), Carolyn texted that Saturday looked to be a wash out and they could come get us for lunch or dinner.  I asked Frank how he felt about the Seattle weatherman’s forecast for rain all day, and Frank said he was thinking clear skies through Monday.  I texted Carolyn that we were thinking of sleeping late and going to the Space Needle and Chihuly Glass museum on the Monorail if it wasn’t raining too bad.  She said they would plan on a late lunch early dinner in town so we could see each other again.

Saturday arrived with a hint of blue in the sky which made me hopeful that the day would not be rainy nor gray.  I guess you don’t realize that these far northern parts of the US(to include Alaska) have a lot more hours of sunlight…be it gray or rainy.  Light coming into your window does not necessarily mean it is time to get up.  Hello, 3:59 AM sunrise.  Eddie and I never saw an Alaskan sunset-it happened too late in the evening or if we were up, too foggy.  So, I was up asking Frank-if we would get to visit the Glass Garden or would it be an inside visit with umbrellas in between.  Eddie slept in…surprise? By 10:30 the sky was blue, and we were happily eating breakfast and getting ready to head to the Monorail.  

For you of a certain age the Monorail, the Space Needle and the park area in that area were the site of the 1962 World’s Fair.  Before we became so globally intertwined and flying to another continent so common place, the world came to various locations every four years.  Kinda like the Olympics for cultural, technology and food.  I remember Mom coming in 1962 and coming home with stories of the futuristic Monorail, the Space Needle and all the exhibits.  It has been 60 years since that World’s Fair (now referred to as Expo).  The Needle has had a recent face lift and does not look a day over 45.  The Monorail concrete rails are original but the station (and there are only two) and cars are much more modern.  The Monorail only goes from the Westlake Center to the Park area, above ground, every 10 minutes.  Most of the hotels are in the Westlake Belltown area, so makes sense.  Houston would have done well to follow this example, sure ground laid track is cheaper, but these trains don’t fight for right of way with cars or pedestrians.  

By 11:30 we were touring the Chihuly Glass Museum and Gardens.  For you not familiar with Dave Chihuly’s work, you can Google it.  For those who don’t want to bother, think Belligo’s colorful glass ceiling, the outdoor Murano glass sculptures, and Bill & Hill’s favorite artist…read-if you are reading this, you can’t afford to have one in your home or garden.  Each of the rooms of the museum was a different evolution of his art form.  After blowing the glass ornament on the ship, Eddie and I understand more of what it took to produce each piece.  The color, the floor to ceiling towers of color, the fragile nature of the glass itself and the way it is done changed glass designs forever.  The gardens were lush with plants and flowers but a riot of glass forms, spheres and orbs that was both whimsical and beautiful.  Dick said later that he has never seen so much as a speck of dust due to the clean air filters.  Hmmm, a white glove moment, man after my own heart. While we weren’t alone in  The museum or garden areas, we sat through the various short films in the theatre that explained his technique and inspirations.  The theatre kinda sorta exits into the gift shop area…but when have you ever known a museum to not empty into a gift shop.  It as then we realized that everyone not on a cruise ship was right here right now.  Sunshine on a Saturday in Seattle…yup,skateboards, dogs, assorted bizarre people…shoulder, shoulder.    Carolyn said later that until March this was a by reservation only, mask required inside and out, no loitering.  The restaurants and cafes that are noted on the map are still closed due to staffing issues.  So, food and drink was pretty much limited to some sketchy street vendors and the gift shops.  The open walkways had street performers, to include an old Japanese fellow on an electric Japanese stringed instrument.  Eddie decided he must have stolen it from someone or he got it at the pawn shop.  Eddie was tempted to pay him not to play.  By 2:30 we had seen how Seattle has transformed the 1962 space into a wonderful urban green space…with lots of people. I mean lots of people, despite being one of the last places to emerge from the Covid Cocoon….Chihuly glass makes for one pretty butterfly.

Making the commute from Redmond, Dick and Carolyn picked us up and we enjoy a few more hours over dinner and laughter.  The friends part of this trip is probably my favorite.  Chicken soup for your soul.  Our ride back to the hotel took us through the University of Washington Campus, thanks Google Maps, just in time to see all the college graduates and parents walking towards the parking lots.  The smiling faces on both told the story of two long years in a college experience that was like no other in history.  The faces shined with hope and resilience. 

Good way to end a sunny day in Seattle.  Before letting us out, Dick and Carolyn insisted that they come on Sunday morning and take us to the train station.  Yeah, we decided to take the 4 hour train ride from Seattle to Portland for the final FF stop.  Train got the call due to the crazy cost of car rental, $6.00+ a gallon gas charge or the 6 hour hassle of airport to airport door to door hassle.  Ed and I hate to impose on people, but you know the Cains, hospitality with a capital H.  We reluctantly agreed.  

I was up early, and decided that I needed what Amy Cain calls the “Starbucks Experience”.  After being in Seattle for more morning coffees than usual, we have determined that the hoopla over the various Seattle branded coffees are clearly marketing gimmicks.  We have had the room coffee maker coffee with curated keurig cups of organic, fair traded, sustainable blah blah blah with powdered creamer-seriously, with the price of these rooms in Downtown Seattle you could at least have the liquid caps of coffeemate.  I guess I was have ship board cappuccino withdrawals.  So, I consulted Starbucks App to find  the “Location” near me.  600 feet away, .04 miles away, or .06 miles away-yeah, there is one on every corner, but is it open at 7:00 on a Sunday?    I invested the dime to call and found the one 600 feet away was indeed open.  While I could have done the on trend mobile app ordering, Eddie wanted a little something, something, which says I needed to look at what they were planning on nuking in the microwave before deciding.  Eddie is decidedly a sweet roll or breakfast sandwich guy, not the hard boiled egg with day old carrot stick guy.  Under threatening skies (Frank,only got a 50/50 on the forecast) - I scurried down the 600 feet to the open Starbucks.  The door was opened by a taser armed security guard, flanked by the yellow shirted Seattle Bicycle patrol cop that had dispersed the 6 teen skateboarders ( which begs the question, do your parents know where your are?) Apparently, I am not in the Kingwood Starbuck… there are 10 others were either in line to order, or waiting for the barista to call their name that their low fat almond milk low foam extra grande latte with a double pump of sugar free vanilla was ready.  Eddie and I are simple folk, 2 - 16 oz Pikes Peak Regular Coffee, add half and half with 3 each stevia (that is the green one), because apparently Seattle has outlawed the pink stuff…we have not seen it since we left the ship.    We will have a couple of the breakfast sausage sandwiches, not the impossible meat breakfast sandwiches to go.  While waiting in line, our security detail was aroused into action.  A street resident had managed a ten dollar bill…and admission to the building.  6 feet of social distancing was not a problem for the rest of the folks in line.  He looked like a kid in the candy store…he eyed the food options, and the coffee options, weighing each against his crisp new bill. His friend on the sidewalk was still looking for a willing benefactor.  He finally decided on a small coffee, and two breakfast sandwiches, no change.  Leaving the Starbucks, his buddy wanted to see if I was a generous benefactor…the security guard suggested I was not a good option.  I returned to the hotel.  Using the keycard to gain door access, sloshing said cup of Starbucks on my clean shirt, rats.  Well, check the total Covid Starbuck Seattle experience off my list.  I will dyi a Cafe Pickle, it is a Starbucks Experience that we have come to appreciate while being gone.   Besides, we always have the pink stuff and half and half. 

Friends and Family

When I restarted writing my travel adventures this go around, I mentioned that we on the PNW (Pacific Northwest) Friends and Family tour post cruise time.  There a lot of moving parts to this, age groups and methods of transportation involved, so do try and keep up.  Despite having his own spread sheet, Eddie ask daily who we are seeing and how we are going to get there….Covid season has not been kind to Eddie’s calendar keeping ability.  We left our ship home by 8:00 Saturday morning…along with all the passengers from our ship, the RCCL Ovation was letting there 4,000 guests off in the same space. Solstice luggage to left, Ovation to the right, buses to left, private cars and limos to right, with the Uber, Lyft and traditional cab stand 2 blocks away. We had been warned that the cost of Uber and Lyft has gotten crazy high, that a regular cab could be hard to come by. You see where this is going….Eddie is not a bus kinda guy, nor am I seeing him dragging 4 suitcases two blocks for a ride in a Prius. I have kept the cell number of car and driver from our embarkation day.  I phoned my new friend with a name I could not pronounce even without a mask and he was more than glad to meet us at the #2 pick up point.   I know why there are no black Tahoes, Yukon and Suburbans for purchase, they are all hanging out at the cruise port in Seattle looking for paying customers.  It was wild!  Dozens of uncontracted Black Shiny vehicles looking for cruiser love.  With all of the rain here, they must spend afternoon on cruise days (which is 7 days a week in season) washing and buffing their rides.  Glad there is not shortage of water (we are looking at you, California) here.  The signage clearly states that solicitation of passengers is prohibited and you will be prosecuted.  Covid rules, baby, Covid rules, cash talks.  The various drivers were paying the security police to solicit passengers and look the other way when they blocked traffic.  Our driver arrived and motioned the security away and indicated he would not be paying them for securing us.  Pure cock of the walk.  He waited while we dropped our luggage and checked in a the Mayflower Park, he took us to the ferry terminal and showed us how to get a taxi back to the hotel when we returned.  Cautioned us not to arrive after dark as the waterfront and the ferry terminal construction was not a safe place for us old people.  Guess we shouldn’t talk to strangers, either.  Seattle butt powdering comes at a high price $85 for maybe 45 minutes of driving….kinda like the water taxis in Venice.    Oh yeah, his Square charge thingy never works…$85 cash.  Good Grief.  

Between the construction and vague signage, we managed to get on the correct ferry for 9:35 AM run of the Tacoma.  I had downloaded the app, so I at least knew time and vessel.  The skies had cleared and we could see the cruise ships we had left two hours ago getting ready for the next groups of passengers.  While we have been to Seattle several times, we have never taken the ferry to any of the other cities, and never to Bainbridge.  It is enchanting.  I have read a series of murder mystery that the protagonist is based on BI.  She paints word pictures, but it does not do it justice.  A tad like Cape Cod -framed house lined up along the water front, but the trees, woods and flowers are beautiful, especially this time of the year.  We were greeted by  my very tall and good looking nephew (no bias there, he reminds me of pictures of my dad) Daniel, and his youngest child-Blakely.  We wandered the streets of Winslow and peeked into the various shops.  Daniel confessed that he had never been in most of these shops…he and his wife Megan have Blakely (1) and 3 boys 3,5, and almost 8.  Yeah, stores with glass things  or candy and boys never ends well. Very laid back vibe-most had dogs, shorts, sandals and a hoodie.  Apparently, it is the uniform of Seattle….some form of hoodie…covers a lot of bad hair days due to rain, I guess.    Us, Texans brought our sleeveless fleece vest, guess old tourists.  We had a lunch of fresh salmon and cod…really fresh, like it slept in the surrounding waters last night.  Daniel was a wonderful tour guide as we made a loop of the island and got home in time for the middle boys to arrive home from preschool.  Their back yard is a lush green affair with grass, woods, forts, trees to climb, a garden, and of course, mud…it rains a lot here…or so I have been told.  It is a couple of acres that allow these boys to have adventures but still be visible from the kitchen window and not too far that we could not hear them if they were hurt themselves.  I always wonder how these kind of places will be remembered when they get old…like 25, or so.    If one of the kids becomes a writer, this place is gold.    By the time Brody (8) arrived home, we were one step back out the door headed for our afternoon ferry back to the Emerald City.  The boys had baseball practice and a party-as life with kids should be, Blakely had napped on our car trip, so she was good to go.    Thankful for the moment…

Our return trip was easy, as we knew what to expect…except the part about a rain storm just about the time we were getting off the ferry.  Oh yeah, Frank (KPRC weather app) let me know it was raining at my current location.  Yeah, Frank, got my umbrella.  Almost as helpful as the Alert Houston Message of Extreme Heat in Houston this weekend.  Glad we are here for a few more days.  With our umbrellas, we made our way to the taxi stand.  Two taxis, no drivers…and it is raining.  The first driver arrived at his Green Taxi Prius.  Asked where we were going.  We told him, including the address…it is about 2.5 miles away…rain…no walking.  He had to think about it.  We started to turn and see if the second taxi was anymore eager for a rider.  He said, “Fine”.  We climbed into his #1032 Green Taxi,with his license visible, and the window sticker clearly stating the meter charges and zone charges.  He turns to Ed and says in a heavy accent with mask, 1-2.  Ed says, “Pardon” he says 1-2.  I countered with use the meter as per the window tag.  Driver replied in broken English, “no meters, gas too high”.  Seriously, get a new sticker or a upcharge sticker.  We were about to get out and go to cab #2, but he said he would take $10.  We got to the hotel in 15 minutes or less, traffic was actually heavy, and it was raining.  Eddie did not tip the driver….and I did not report him to his company or the Taxi police, but I was tempted.  

Most of the rest of Seattle and BI are “cashless”-meaning you don’t leave home without your credit or debit cards, cause they don’t take paper money or coins….unless you want to take a ride in car, then you better have cash…$20 bills are preferred.  Glad Eddie had correct change on the way home, Green Taxi guy would have told him No change…

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Boy, Mother Nature (and Alaska) sure knows how to kiss and make up.  After the case of the MIA glacier, which we were not the only ones who missed the asterisk in the description of Dawes-in conversations with others, they missed the memo, too.    We spent yesterday in Skagway, the gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890s.  We arrived at 7:00 AM in heavy pea soup fog, which did not bode well for our planned excursion.   We have been here before, while they have added puppy time with dog sled teams, the highlight has to be the White Pass & Yukon Railway.  And yes, we had a 1:00 excursion time, no early morning things, remember?  Despite the fog, the helicopters and float planes were buzzing back and forth in the harbor area. Nope, nope, nope fog plus small flying things with mountains equal a big no thanks in my book.    There were four ships docked, 2 Princess ships, one Holland America and Celebrity.  The Holland America ship had the handicapped slot closest to town, Celebrity was docked at the furthest mooring from the shopping area.  As the tourist season is short, they were more than willing to allow you to pay the $3 per person to go to and from the town area.  As the morning wore on, the fog lifted, but the skies were still the gray that has shadowed us since Seattle.  Back to our planned excursion-It is 3 hours of breath taking beauty in a replica rail car on a well maintained small gage track (thank goodness because several times it literally hangs off the edge of the mountain side).  While you could have biked up the 15 miles or so, rising to 7,500 and waving to the Canadian Border, it is much more relaxing to take the train and you did not have to pack your passport and phone with the ArriveCan app loaded with your vaccine status.  This was my third time on the train.  My past two trips were in May 2002 and July 2010, it was green with the slightest hint of snow on the peaks of the granite mountain tops.  Mother Nature pulled a fast one, and there on the ground, even at lower elevations was a snow pack. That would be global warming at work, right?  When I first saw it at a distance, I assumed that it was gravel for the railway bed.  Guess I need to put new glasses on my things to do list.    What we missed in Tidewater glaciers we more than made up for in valley glaciers today.  The guides on the train who are often regular seasonal workers remarked that they have never in their lives seen the snow pack last this long.  There were some areas that had 20 feet high snow packs beside the track.  As we started our ascent into the mountains,  blue skies began to break through the gray.  I had to change to sunglasses the glare off the snow was blinding.  The Skagway river that flanks the train journey was swollen and wild due to the late snow melt.  Raw and beautiful glacier clouded water splashing and swirling as it came down mountain to the valley floor.  Usually we have the one waterfall of Bridal Veil and some wet rocks as we climb, this time there were many more small water falls, so numerous and not normal that the guide’s script did not include them.  You had to be camera ready at all times.  The difference in our 2002 and 2010 photos of the same places were pretty much interchangeable, but these are completely different.  These had brilliant crisp blue skies, the last remnants of spring green growth in the hardwoods and the white of the snow.  Yeah, apologies accepted.  

Where is the Ice?

Okay, we all know that we decided to take this cruise to Alaska on somewhat of a whim.  Eddie’s whining, my kitchen burn out, and both of our desires to travel to some place cooler.  Yeah, we get Frank’s weather updates for Houston-100 forecast for this weekend….it is 50 degrees here-locals are in shorts.   Glad we are hanging with the PNW homies for another 10 days.  We are on the friends and family tour.  So, we knew which cruise line we wanted to take and time frame.  While we have been known to sleep around with other cruises lines, we typically sail Celebrity.  We are only a few more cruises from their top level Zenith frequent cruiser level.  It use to be according to number of nights on board, now they have multipliers based on nights and coins spent on reservations.  With the more all inclusive sailings these days, elite plus gets you not much more than free bags of laundry.  Zenith you get a free cruise.  I guess you can call that a retirement goal.  

I booked our current cruises without much research as to the Glacier, which of course is the highlight of any trip to Alaska.  Seen one tidewater glacier, you have seen them all, right?  We have seen Glaciers in Canada, Montana, and most all the ones in Alaska, so Dawes sounded good, especially when it suggested that there a ton of wildlife present in the Endicott Arm which is the 30 mile approach to the Glacier.  Either we missed the asterisk by Dawes Glacier or global warming is a bigger threat that we have been led to believe.  Eddie and I got up at 5:00 this morning.  Yeah, that does not happen often, especially on a cruise. I used the glass/water/ice tray to go upstairs and get four cups of coffee and some croissants since Room Service does not start until 6:00.  The fog was thick, the ice chunks few,  as we started the run toward glacier.  The much touted wildlife was a no show.  The sheer granite walls rising from the water, the waterfalls and the clouds hanging in the various mountains gave it an eery quality-almost like a black and white photo with the glacier green blue water the only color in the shot.  The rain steadily increased as the time went on.  The phone blinked a message that our morning helipad vantage point to the glacier had been cancelled due to rain and safety precautions.  By 7:15 we had come to a complete stop.  We assumed the glacier was on the other side of the ship.  Being glacier pros, and all, we knew the ship would pivot and it would be our turn next, no need to run to the 15th floor to get a better view….and it was really raining now.  We turned on the TV set to the navigational channel to see what on the other side.  Oops, where the beef, I mean the glacier?  Motoring up beside us are two excursion boats, kinda like the one we took yesterday. Unlike Hubbard and Glacier Bay, there was no Congo line of cruises lines ahead or behind us-red flag.      There was an announcement that those that had excursion tickets were to report to the appropriate deck.  We grabbed our 20 year old Alaskan Cruise Guide for a glacier map.  Yup, right here on the map is two arms of the Dawes Glacier.  Looks like global warming had either dried up our arm or my map skills are not as good as they use to be.  Covid must have been rough on the glaciers, too.   The excursion vessels took off up the ice clogged other arm.  I guess if we could not go on the helipad, the huge icebergs in the narrow channel arm was a big cruise ship no go.  See Titanic for details.   Gee, missed the asterisk warning that you don’t actually see, hear or watch the glacier calving unless you pay the extra $500 for the excursion.  Pregame fail on our part….but I will blame Eddie as he was in charge of excursions.  He said we could watch the glacier from the balcony, and he made reservations at the #1 restaurant in Juneau-which is our afternoon stop-so Eddie.  Frank says it is going to rain in Juneau this afternoon, 100%, so grabbing the shuttle bus and walking the couple blocks might not happen.  Last times here we saw the two glaciers in that neighborhood.  

As we were one of the few in the restaurant for breakfast, I kinda think the rest of the folks on board missed the asterisk, too.  I am waiting for our exit to the Endicott Arm before grabbing my shower.  Eagle eye Eddie spotted a sea lion in the water, so far that is the only wildlife we have seen this morning.  Perhaps the rest of the wildlife is sleeping in due to the weather.  

Glad we have seen glaciers before…I almost have gotten enough glacier visits to complete my Glacier Merit Badge…can’t decided if I can count Dawes.  Maybe I just note it with the asterisk.  Lesson learned, not all glaciers are the same.  Do your own homework-don’t rely on others when making choices about cruises excursions.  Control stick issue.  

Alaskan Bingo

Okay, for you folks at home playing along with Pickles in Alaska, if you had pod of Orcas, Humpback Whale sighting, Salmon in the wild, Bald Eagle, Clam Chowder, King Crab Legs, and Eddie gets a Blow Job, you can bubble in those squares on your bingo card.  

Just like the 5:00 news, I will wait until almost the end to tell you about Eddie’s blow job.  No reading ahead, that would be cheating.  Everyone’s card had the pristine scenery, snow covered mountain tops, and verdant green forests.  So, we will skip reviewing those things.  Twenty years later, the natural beauty of Alaska still is some of our favorite.  After going to Norway, Chile, and Iceland with all the natural raw fjordian beauty-Alaska is still our favorite.  We started this adventure in Ketchikan.  It use to be a tendered port, but somewhere along the way it has gone from a sleepy little town with lots of Diamond International shops to a much more tourist savvy destination-with multiple deep water berths, town side.  Float planes dot the skies.  Three ships in port-Ruby Princess and Carnival Splendor and Celebrity Solstice.  For those of you unfamiliar with Alaska cruising-Princess created the market and the infrastructure.  Carnival, Princess and Holland are the same parent corporation. All other cruises companies get what is left as far as tour priority, berths in port and access to Glacier Bay.  We are at the beginning of the tourist season, despite three ships, the town people are all smiles and more than happy to take your money.  No shortage of workers either.  Guess Covid made them count their blessings for folks on cruise ships.  No supply chain shortages for t shirts and stuffed animals.  Must have had left overs for two years with no tourists.  Check off T shirts, stuffed Alaskan animals, and Christmas ornaments on your bingo board.  Yeah, we purchased two for our collection, made in China, I am sure.    

When selecting our excursion for the day, Eddie said no early morning tours, no zodiac boats (too rough on his back), I countered with no float planes and open boats since this is the most Northern Rain Forest with 13 feet of rain a year on 300 out of 365 semi wet or really wet days.  We decided on the 11:00 boat trip to Misty Fjord with wildlife encounter.  Remember the part about Princess and Carnival in the port with us, well, apparently their folks called dibs on the 11:00 run, we got the 7:45 slot.  7:45 and we gained an hour last night, so 8:45 new old time…we could live with that.  This is my third trip into Ketchikan, it is always overcast with heavy clouds in the morning-reason #18 I will not take a float plane.  1-18 reasons revolve around fear of flying and the recent number of tourist float planes that just drop out of the air or crash into the mountains.  The fear of flying is strong in me when there are propellers, bad weather and sea birds involved.  As we motored out, Eddie spotted the tell tale puff from a whale’s blow hole followed by the back fins of the humpback splashing the water.  Our on board naturalist, Care, (yeah, Care is her name, I did not misspell it) was barely through her self introduction.  She was a recent graduate of UC Monterey Bay in Marine ecology-Like, you know, totally.  She used impressive professional college terms like eeewk, yucky, gross and sucky to describe the various Alaska species that we might encounter.  Eddie hit the mental mute button after the first uh,uh, uh, totally in her presentation.  He can be such a snob.  If you had Eddie as a intellectual snob, you can mark that square on your bingo board.  Misty Fjords did not disappoint-the skies broke blue just as we entered the waterfall portion of the Fjords.  Waterfall -check.  I had on polarized sunglasses and was treated my own private color show-the various minerals in the stone and granite showed colors of pink, blue, purple and yellow.  Eddie missed the show cause he has Transitions.  We saw no less than a dozen bald eagles in flight, in pairs and one rather large nest with no one at home.  The salmon have begun the run so there were some salmon rolling top water was we returned to the dock area.  By far the favorite was a pod of 20 Orcas that appeared close to land where we had seen the fish (and a large number of fishing boats). They were playing with the young calves and each other, we would see groups of 4 and 5 breaking the water together.  Never gets old or less exciting.  

We returned to the dock and decided that we wanted to try some King Crab or Dungess Crab at a local restaurant.  We had heard from some of the crew that King Crab is crazy expensive.  It you had $60 for one crab leg on your card, you get to color that space in, use a green marker.    While we don’t remember Clam Chowder being a big thing before, it is now.  We had it in Seattle, on the excursion boat and at the restaurant for lunch.  Eddie said they give you chowder to make up for the small amount of crab.  It is all good-I guess clams are still plentiful and cheap…that or they are cutting up rubber bands and putting it in potato soup to feed the tourists.    

Now for Eddie’s blow job.  A few of the Celebrity ships have Glass works on board.  Yes, the hot ovens, long rods, and Molten glass.  Would love to been in that planning meeting when they decided that a Glass Blowing operation should be included in their ship designed.  Red hot oven, melting glass, in rough seas letting people that have an unlimited liquor package dyi their souvenirs.  What could go wrong there.  We all know Eddie has a creative side to him, so before I left home, I signed him up to make a object d’ art-code for another Christmas Ornament while we were sailing the Alaskan coast.  Since this is not our first rodeo, we secured an 11:00 in the morning (remember, no early morning activities) for our second day on board.  There is a lot of hand holding by the professional glass blower.  But Eddie got to choose he colors, melt the glass beads in the oven,  blow the molten glass on the long metal rod—- several times causing the phallic shaped glass blob-yes it was red- to form a bubble which he then stretched.  So, blow job at sea.  Check that off your list.  

Tomorrow is an early morning….5:30 AM approach to Endicott Fjord and Dawes Glacier.  This is the fourth glacier I have been to in the Alaskan Basin in the various trips…no repeats.  We will start early on our Balcony and go to the Helipad at 7:15 for an exclusive vantage point.  Only the best for our Eddie.  We can nap in the afternoon.  Oh yeah, if you had Eddie taking a nap this afternoon, you can color that square in.  Anyone got Bingo yet?  

Unicorns, Mermaids, Caves and Corvettes, Oh My!

 If a little is good, a lot be more better…this is our Eddie’s mantra.  Kinda of his version of “everything in moderation”.  We are headed down the Kentucky highways and byways, looking for unicorns and mermaids at all the local liquor stores.  Unicorns are the rare bottles of Blanton’s (which after discussing with numerous local bourbon retailers, the allocation from the distributor is dispensed the last week of each month).  Fact-distillers can sell their product, but once it is bottled in the bottling plant, it goes to the distributor and then back to the “gift shop”.  To protect the employees-no one at the distillery knows which limited bottles of what will be delivered each day/week…Mermaids are those bottles of bourbon that are only available in Kentucky-like the Heaven Hills Green Label.  To be a unicorn and mermaid hunter, one must know his quarry, as not all of these bootleggers-oops I mean liquor purveyors, are honest about what is on the shelf or the price.  I visited a local owner in Bardstown,  “Toddy”, who use to sell Blanton’s at the regular price when he got it in.  He now proudly displays his 4 stylings of Blanton’s “behind the counter, on the top shelf” with handmade price tags of $152.00, $300.00, $450.00, $500.00.  He said he even had Pappy’s in his safe.  If you ask him to look at the bottle, he smiles, looks both ways (in case this old fat lady makes a break for the door with said bottle) and allows you to examine the bottle.  Said bottle has its seal broken and the color is a little off for bourbon.  Nope, nope, nope…my Momma did not raise a fool.  Thanks, but no thanks.  And,  then there is Eddie…he has drunk bourbon his entire life…in all price ranges…it is his go to Fall and Winter drink.  Typically, he drinks gin after Derby Day/mint juleps, then resumes Bourbon related drinks after Labor Day.  Kinda like not wearing white before Easter or after Labor Day-old school.  So, with his seasoned palate to go by, and nothing else, we are off looking for mermaids…I am quite  sure we have gotten a few narwhals in the mix.  When at the distilleries, the tastings provide the necessary research for purchase.  Our Eddie is not impressed with “Bottled in Bond” and “Cask strength”, he goes by taste, smell, the “hug-ability” (the warmth that you feel when you take a sip is called a Kentucky hug).  I trust his palette…lots of original equipment may have been replaced or is not functioning, but his nose and tastebud grow stronger as he ages.  However, once you leave the tasting bubble and go into a local liquor store, all bets are off.  Ohh, shiny!  Eddie has bitten on every piece of bait that was thrown out.  These old boys just set the hook and reeled him in.  I hope he checked the seals.  

Along with are Bourbon chasing, we decided to get our National Park passport stamped going to Mammoth Caves.  Growing up North Alabama which is part of the Limestone shelf in these parts, we frequently went to Cathedral Caverns and other area tourist traps…heck, there were even the caves that were in our neighborhood that we were forbidden to go to-but you know what they say about forbidden fruit.  Eddie and I have visited (and gotten our NP Passport stamp) at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.  So,if Eddie knows Bourbon-I can claim cave knowledge.  The Park, itself, is pristine.  Those shovel ready projects we hear so much about have recently completed a lovely large visitor center.  The roads and campsite have few cars or campers.  The network of known caves within the park is over 400 miles.  There are dueling caves fighting for your tourist dollars surrounding the park…but as caves go it was a dud,  I saw more interesting caves growing up.  But if you are looking to be in a National Park Camp during covid without the rest of the US, Mammoth is your destination…average temp below is 55 degrees, no crowds, at all, clean restrooms.   

Our stopping point for the day is Bowling Green.  Home to the GM Corvette Assembly plant and the National Corvette Museum….conveniently located aside Interstate 65 South.  Unbeknownst to us, George is a closet gear head…Cousin Vince said it was a must see…more liquor stores or the Corvette Museum?  We will take 2 Senior Ticket and one regular admission, please.  Just our luck, Labor Day weekend is the quarterly meeting of Corvette groupies and the Museum committee…can I tell you how many men where there with their Corvettes?  Want to guess their average age?  Depending on your Memory chip for old worthless news, you might remember that a portion of this very circus like building collapsed into a sink hole In 2014.  Remember the stuff about caves all over these parts…yup, cave, weight on top, water, global warming, climate change..sinkholes.  Half the floor of the “big top arena area” gobbled up 7 or 8 rare, one of a kind corvettes.  Oops, hope that they  had good insurance.  The entire story along with the mangled carcasses of the cars are on display.  Actually, this cave story was better than  the Mammoth Cave story..cause everyone rubber necks at a car wreck.  The two boys looked pretty please with themselves as we exited through the gift shop.  We all know that is the tour’s last stop-Kinda like Cracker Barrel’s gift shop…this is where they make their money.  Had to stop Eddie from purchasing a red embroidered Corvette shirt.  I have seen that twinkle in his eye before.  Fishing gear, shop equipment, books, bourbon—-it is all about the toys.  Funny, in all the old guys out front with their ‘vettes’, none looked Eddie.  This should be interesting,  

The Road Home

 If it is Tuesday, it must mean a Tropical Storm (as in Ida, Fred is so dead, and so two weeks ago).  While I haven’t posted anything things of late, it in not that there has been no news or Eddie stories..just not much of an opportunity to sit with my morning coffee.  Lauren and crew (along with Drew’s parents) came and went…with a side order of TS Fred flooding, downing trees, mud slides (yes, that is how NC does heavy rains), and road closures.  Points to those of you who got the geography correct and asked if we were underwater or just treading.  Talk about a busman’s holiday…we have been here for Florence (2016), Fred (2021) and now Ida (2021)…we travel and bring our own hurricanes/bad weather with us (along with KPRC Frank’s weather app-and warnings)…you can thanks us now, Houston, as no hurricanes are in Texas as long as the target is in NC.  George arrived last Thursday (a week ago) and it has been nonstop foodie and drink adventures since then.  For those of you who had your money on “0” for the number of times the fishing equipment (and golf) was used, you may collect your winnings at the window.  

As you all know, I am a planner…between Covid and weather, I have spent a good deal of time modifying, cancelling, postponing and changing my plans for this trip…to include our Labor Day long weekend in New Orleans-nope, third world travel is not Eddie’s fav), Canadian train trip in later September, and pivoting on restaurants we planned on dining with that are still on take away status.  Each state and place we have visited has handled Covid, masking, staffing and hours of operation differently.  It has been eye opening…particularly coming from the Texas/KW/Houston bubble…we actually have it pretty good…except for the Delta stuff.  

Knowing that Tuesday was forecast to be heavy rain, we (as in George and I) did the breakdown and pack up on Monday…it is good to be King, right, Eddie.  At 9:00 sharp on Tuesday morning, under threatening skies, we pulled out of our river home for the last time.  After reviewing the weather app and storm trajectory, we actually drove south to go north, staying off the narrow two lanes and using Interstate highways into Kentucky.  Good planning, Karen, 6 hours into the Lexington area with only a minimum amount of rain.  Our Kentucky adventure is all about the Bourbon.  We have done Civil War trails, wine trails, beer breweries, antebellum homes, literary tours, National Park trails-we are a sucker for those passport stamps.  When planning this trip, with Bourbon being the Hip liquor du jour, I decided that a detour to 6 or so distilleries and a NP (Mammoth Cave) would be a good adventure for both Eddie and George.  

The Kentucky highways-Mitch (as in McConnell, Senior Senator from Ky) and Rand (Paul-Jr. Senator from Ky) have done a grand job of federal dollars to their Highway system.  Some of the best maintained Interstates and Parkways we have traveled on since the Interstate system began (see Eisenhower administration).  Well played, Mitch and Rand.  Tennessee, Alabama could learn much from you.  

After years of “Corporate” travel, Eddie likes Bed and Breakfast, boutique hotels or VRBOs for his over night stays when leisure traveling.  This adventure has been no different.  A castle and a jail…seems about right.  First the, Kentucky Castle-a very choice piece of prime property in Woodford County, with the prerequisite interesting background story-divorce, Jane Curren (there is a flashback) abandoned to reclaimed by investors.  Woodford is just west of Lexington, and is ground zero for horse farms.  We used Waz to navigate, and the road less travel took us through the most picturesque horse farms all with blue grass rolling hills, black painted fencing that lines every piece of property, elegant manor houses new and centuries old, fields of corn, soybeans and tobacco, and horses.  You know when you read a description of an area…then you actually go there (see Eddie literary tours for details) or watch a movie…it just does not quite live up to what you imagined?  Well, the area does.  It is like stepping into a painting.  Back to my Castle adventure…restaurant is rated as one of the best in the area - Eddie check…the accommodations were rated as some of the best..check.  Covid staffing….ummm…not thinking Cornell or U of H Hotel Motel Management School…when there are only 10 rooms and 3 turret suites (yes, we had a turret room - think Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair), you would think that the desk clerk might know where the room was.  The staff was super nice, but super young and inexperienced…Covid has been hard on the hospitality industry…they all loved hanging around the well equipped Bourbon Bar helping mix and sample drinks.    By the way, Eddie kept remarking that this is not what he imagined…ahh, the King is not happy in his Kentucky Castle.  It is for one night, You will live.  

Wednesday morning arrived-with overcast skies, which gave way to blue skies and cooler temps (low 70’s) as we followed the black fences through Versailles (of course, our castle was in Versailles-this is an Eddie fantasy, right) by Coolmore Farms, homes to 2 Triple Crown winners, and to the enormous campus of Buffalo Trace Distillery on the banks of the Kentucky River.  The line started early for temperature check and mask instructions, but as we had a booked tour (thanks, Vera) we got to cut the line…An Eddie favorite.  While a tour of the distillery is nice, we have learned that it is all about the Gift Shops…cause this is where the good stuff might be.  They will have some bottles of stuff that you can get in Texas, but there are bottles of “distillery only” or “limited” brands.  The line was a buzz…yesterday, in the pouring down rain, visitors were treated to Blanton’s…yes, the pot of gold at the end of the Kentucky rainbow.  But that was Tuesday.  Wednesday it was Taylor small batch…one to a customer, only every 90 days, licenses scanned.  Rats.  The line (because you know there will be a long one)  gadflies had various liquor stores in the area with a bottle of this or that…oooh, more planning.  Buffalo Trace marketing is outstanding-create the buzz, and mystique, then limit supply….they are not part of the “Official” Bourbon Trail-no passport stamp here.  

We spent the afternoon with Woodford Reserve, before driving down the Bluegrass parkway to Bardstown…the cradle of Bourbon distilling.  I decided on accommodations in the Jail….Jailer’s Inn.  The Original jail (202 years old) still exists, with thick concrete walls and iron bars, but the front and side buildings were the jailer’s home and now a bed and breakfast.  Our Jailer, Paul, is a wonderful talkative host.  The rooms are vintage grandmother’s house with hints of White Shoulder dusting powder and dollies on the dressers.  Breakfast is served in the outside patio room with Max the bunny as your floor entertainment.  The bunny at breakfast in a jail…what more could you ask for.  Oh yeah, you know the King….yesterday, after several bourbon tastings, Eddie retired to the bed chamber…for a pre-cocktail hour nap.  Did I mention we are next to a Feed store with an industrial feed grinder?  Wait for it, the grinding station is right out side of our bedroom window.  I thought he was going to levitate off the bed— crown and all—when 100 pounds of feed had to be ground.  Glad they close early.  

Bardstown has followed the boom to bust road of the distillers of Kentucky…the water naturally filtered by limestone, the corn, rye and wheat all Kentucky grown pretty much stay the same but the owners have changed frequently.  The same goes for the shops and restaurants.  The Tavern next door has been serving guests since the late 1780’s remains a constant, but as  We walked the Main Street sad to see that many of the places had closed during covid.  One bright spot was a prohibition style Speak Easy bar for predinner drinks (as if we had not sampled enough)…just had to use your cell phone to get the magic code.  It had over 150 different bourbons…educational and something different.  

Today was more touring of distilleries and passport stamping.  Can I tell you what it is like shopping with two boys in multiple bourbon shops?  Eddie even dressed in red and black for the Maker’s Mark tour….I really think it was an accident, but he looked like he belonged for sure.  We have more gift bags of bourbon  and bourbon merc than we have room for in the  car…perhaps I should leave the 40 pound bag of fly equipment out…

Tomorrow we head south, the Bourbon Trail behind us, Mammoth Cave in front of us.  I am sure that we will stop along the way at every liquor store looking for our unicorn and mermaid bourbons…rumor has it that the Blanton’s allocation has just been distributed.