Who doesn't like a wedding?

The last couple of months have really flown by. I know that's an old cliche but I swear...it's true. hahahah It all started at the beginning of September when Hurricane Irma was looming. Every year we sweat out the weekly weather updates...wondering if any of the tropical systems are going to strengthen and head towards our part of the Florida coast. This year we were especially nervous after seeing the crazy storms drenching Houston and causing the floods there.
We had plans to go to Tennessee in early September; right around "prime time" for hurricanes.  As the threat of Irma hitting us grew , we decided we'd better board up, pack important things away safely and leave town. After that...we could only hope for the best. It looked like we were going to get out of town just in time to miss the worst of it. An added plus for me....as a county employee, it is understood that in case of an emergency, including hurricanes, county workers may be called upon to help man the shelters. After last year's Hurricane Matthew, the county came up with a new comprehensive plan of action in case of any future storms. Well...this year put that plan to the test....with mixed results.( Now my theory has always been that it's an emergency! You can plan all you want, but until you're in the middle of it, you really don't know exactly how things are going to go.) When I attended the training, I stayed after to ask "What if you have plans to be out of town and you are called to help at a shelter?" I was told, as long as it is a "Planned" vacation...not one you plan because the storm is coming...hahahaha then you're excused.
Right on schedule...Irma was heading our way...and we happily packed our bags and headed north to Tennessee. Now Brenna and Josh, who were also planning to go to the same wedding had a little more complicated plan of action. The vet's office where they were going to board the dogs was closing( because they had to evacuate)...they had no where to keep their three dogs.Now what????? Have someone stay at their house with the dogs?....keeping an eye on the house and the dogs? Pack up the dogs and bring them to TN? One car in the shop was an added complication...as was the thought of all the other people evacuating from Florida...(since the ENTIRE state was being evacuated)...finally they decided to pack up the car and the dogs and leave ASAP. So they headed out at 3am or so and started north. Their plan was to get to Huntsville in time to board the dogs at their old vet...then head to TN as planned. Theirs is a whole other story........................................so for now back to ours. hahah
We left as planned....making a back-up plan for our return to Melbourne since the storm was actually supposed to hit the night before...or the day we were supposed to be flying back and We knew that wasn't going to happen. we arrived in Tennessee on Thursday the 8th. The weather up in Knoxville was just great....Sunny, warm.... but not too warm. Nice September weather...just like  my nephew and his fiance had in mind when they picked the date!
There was a lot of activity going on at the house, since that's where the ceremony and the reception were going to be held.

 Since we were there a day early, and had nothing better to do...we headed over to our nephew's house to see if we could lend a hand.(just a note here...both my nephew's live on this property...it's approximately 5 acres, two houses, driveways, etc next door to one another)
 Most of the big jobs had been done...but it was all the finishing touches that they were working on....and as usual, those little things add up to more than you expect. I ended up mowing the grassy area near the bridge, since down near that area was where the ceremony would take place.

..My nephew Solon  had mowed most of the yard(s), and was going to finish up that area...but since he was at work and had the rehearsal dinner that evening...I figured  he might not have enough time. I mow our grass and wanted to do something anyway...so it was a perfect job for me. I mowed while  John and Ken trimmed up the "edges" and around the trees. After that we picked up the walnuts on the ground...hoping to prevent anyone from tripping over or falling on one.
Later that afternoon, the group in charge of setting up the tent arrived to go to work.

                           They worked in the back yard while we worked in the front.My brother-in-law and his brother were also stringing lights down near the tent where the "dance floor" was going to be.
Once we did all we could do, it was time to get ready for the dinner with all the family and bridal party. Everyone was meeting a a local restaurant. We were looking forward to seeing everyone.

the bride and groom....they've been together  for a while so we were all waiting for this big day !

John's brother and his wife were there. We also saw our niece and most of her family.

John's brother Bill with our niece Lori and her new husband Danny. In front...

Uncle Ken with two of their kids

John with one of Chase's uncles on his Dad's side

Chase's nieces...our great nieces

Sandy with some of Ken's family and our s-i-l Kathie with Ken's sister

Kathie, Elizabeth and Solon (brother of the groom)

sisters-in-law

a nice group of family members enjoying time together

the groom and some of his good friends

Chase and his Mom

It was a nice evening. We all had a chance to catch up a little and meet friends and other relatives. When the evening ended we were ready to call it a night and start again the next day. More on the wedding on the next post.

Looking for whales and other wildlife

The only to "tour" we planned was a boat trip to go whale watching. Martha and Maris have seen plenty of whales in Hawaii...and I've seen a few from a distance. Also got to see a Right Whale off the coast of Melbourne Beach once...but we were hoping to get to see some big whales up close(er). Maris was hoping to see some Orcas. So...we decided to book the tour  for our day in Juneau and hope for the best.

 We lucked out once again with the weather. It was cloudy and a little drizzly, btu the water was calm as could be. Our guide was very informative and we liked the other three people on our boat. It was a family from Houston, they were all very pleasant and we all got along.
Our first stop...a big buoy to see some seals

. They were pretty funny. The three big ones were not letting the little guy up on the buoy. He was swimming around trying to hop up. He made it a few times but the big ones barked at him and made him jump back off. He never gave up...but neither did they. The guide warned us that while they look playful...you wouldn't want to ever get too close to them, because they BITE. After watching them for a while we headed to a spot where whales had been seen recently. There were three or four other boats in the area, so we figured we were in the right place. Looking at the other boats we were happy ours only had John, Martha, Maris and I plus the family of three!

as I mentioned in an earlier post, the coolest thing for me was Hearing the whale, before actually seeing it. Someone would hear it "blow" and then we'd all start looking around the area for it to surface again and flip it's tail. Each time we heard one we'd move closer and the other boats in the area would move in as well.
We had hoped we might see some bears...but no luck there. We passed an island where many of them live (according to our guide) but didn't stop. Later we heard from some of our friends who went on a tour while they were in Alaska. They went to a "spot" where someone blew a whistle (rang a bell? something like that) and the bears all came out to eat. He laughed and said maybe we were better off not having gone on that particular tour. hahahahah He and his wife joked that it was like being at Disney World or something.
While in Skagway we saw lots of salmon running.

It was interesting to watch them all working their way up the streams.

John wished he had had a fishing pole...he would have fished all afternoon. He did go to a local thrift store to see if they might have one...no luck. probably better, because he needed a license
Our day at see was kind of uneventful

. It was rainy, foggy and chilly.

There were activities on board of course...I actually tried Zumba and had fun doing it. Why not...I wasn't going to see any of those people again...hahahaha Also participated in some of the organized games on board. There was a putting contest...didn't participate, but had fun watching those that did. Interesting people watching! hahahahah.I thought about entering the paper airplane contest....but they gave you a sheet of paper to make your own "plane".

I couldn't remember exactly how to make one...and Josh wasn't available...hahahah so I opted out. Once people made their planes they had to toss them and try to get them through a hula hoop that was suspended from the upper deck.

That was fun too... all different shapes and sizes some flew well....others not so much. My favorite was the last entrant...the host asked her where her plane was...she said she had messed it up and showed him a wad of crumpled paper aka her plane.He let her toss it...it went right through the hoop....hahahahah! My kind of plane.
Victoria BC was nice too.

We didn't really have enough time to really explore though. We had a late start out of Skagway, due to a situation that came up with a passenger, so we had less time in port to look around.

It's a pretty town, lots of art, and colorful  flowers everywhere..  and we got there at my favorite time of day...twilight.

There was some sort of celebration going on at the town square

. Military parades and bands, good music. A nice treat. We all walked to the Fairmont Empress Hotel. I really wanted to check it out. It was too late to have tea :( and we didn't need to eat dinner there...so we settled for appetizers and a drink.

I had hoped to check out the Butchart Gardens...but we didn't really have enough time to take the bus out, see it and get back in time. Maybe another time. I know they're beautiful.

 The last leg of the trip was smooth "sailing".

You know it's time

When your notes are on the computer desk for so long that someone else John throws them away thinking them must be trash....hahahaha that's when you know it's time to write a post already! hahaha I have had the photos marked and thoughts in mind...but just haven't gotten motivated to actually write a post...until today. No real reason, been a little busy, but there have been plenty of opportunities to write.
I guess the fact that we've been through a few big storms and two trips since our cruise is sort of an excuse...............................
At any rate, we had a nice trip to Alaska in July and I am glad we got to go. In spite of what some people seem to think ... our climate IS changing and and though it might be subtle, it's real.
The glaciers aren't melting away completely, but there are changes if you look. We went in summer, so we didn't expect temperatures to be super cold, and they weren't. They were very nice. We had mostly clear days and only a bit of rain and when you're on vacation, that's always a good thing!
We started in Seattle, Washington. as I mentioned in the last post, I loved visiting Seattle.

 It was a fun place to explore, especially with people who are adventurous and always ready for anything. (sometimes I need that!)

I enjoyed all the places we visited on the cruise, but I can't say that I was amazed or anything. We didn't venture too far out of the ports, so our sight seeing was limited. It was interesting, it was pretty, but I I didn't leave thinking I HAVE got to go back!
We left Seattle and headed north towards Ketchikan. we basically had a part of a day in each port; enough time to have a look around and maybe venture out on a tour. None of us were interested in rushing to hop on a bus and shuttling out to anything in particular, so we walked around town

. The guys did head out to go offshore fishing. The captain enjoyed having 4 guys who obviously knew what they were doing, they liked having the boat to themselves...AND (most importantly) they caught fish...a win-win all around. They had the Halibut and other fish packed and shipped to our house in Indialantic. as a matter of fact we just cooked most of it up when Martha and Tony were in town two weekends ago. Everyone here enjoyed the fish. We had a great time eating, drinking and telling stories with Paul, Tracy, Mark, David, Brenna, Josh, Martha, Tony and  Bridget...especially since it RAINED almost the whole day we had the cookout. Too bad Ian and Wim, etc couldn't be here too. The guys enjoyed the fishing trip...they have fished together here and there over the years (FL, NC, HI, Mexico) so now Alaska is added to the list. They really enjoyed the captain and the scenery and the weather cooperated.
The ship was nice. We had great rooms, all kind of close to one another. Martha and Tony had a suite at the back of the ship, we were on one side, Ian was on the other.....so we had nice views no matter where were going! Our "headquarters" were definitely the Smith's room....since they had a great roomy balcony where all 7 of us could easily relax comfortably. We met up there every time we had free time.

On the second day when we went into the Tracy Arm Fjord their room was perfect. I think Tony ordered one of everything off the room service menu (at least) and we all just sat in there and ate, drank coffee and enjoyed the lovely scenery. It was a beautiful day...so we got lots of pictures!

Going through the inside passage was probably my favorite part of the cruise itinerary. It was very quiet and peaceful back there. Just our ship and a small sight seeing boat following along. (it picked up folks from our ship and took them further in towards the glacier. I bet that was a trip worth taking!) we had a guest scientist/biologist on board and she narrated the trip as we went along. It was a beutiful day and we enjoyed relaxing on the balcony at the back of the ship and taking it all in. (while we ate all the breakfast food!!!!!)

 I don't know what the room steward thought at first...but they a good tippers...and very appreciative of all he did...so he didn't seem to mind what we asked for...we got it. :) He might have had a little more clean up than usual...but we aren't slobs and again...he was compensated well for any and all that he did. we might all be a little crazy...hahaha, but we're normal!!!!
We tried the Curtis Stone restaurant one night
 and the steakhouse another. Both were good. They didn't seem to be as crowded as they were last year. Most likely because On our cruise last year there were mostly people close to our age on board...I think there might have been about 10 kids total. That was in September. Because we went in July this year, prime time for summer vacation, there were a LOT more families on board. Kids would not necessarily appreciate the "gourmet" food. Lots of reunions with all the generations together. Kids running around all over the place and having a wonderful time. Reminded me of trips we have taken when our girls were younger and how much fun they had. We laughed because there were some kids in the pool at all times. It was not super cold...but it was chilly and windy on some days...but the kids did not care...the pool was open and they were in it! We're walking by in sweaters, etc...and the kids were splashing away for hours on end. :)

In most of the ports Martha, Maris and I went out walking around. we really lucked out weather -wise, never had a rainy day in port.

John, Martha, Maris and I went on a Whale Watching tour in Juneau. We went on a small boat with only three other people, a family from Houston. We passed other boats with 40 or so people crammed on...all trying to look out to see the whales...enough weight to make the whole boat lean...and we were sooo glad we chose the one we did. Our captain was definitely knowledgeable and we had a good time...but that guy could TALK!!!!!nhahahahah I'll leave it at that...hahahahahaha
Enjoyed heading out( on the very calm waters) to check out the spots where whales had been recently seen. It was pretty. I loved hearing the whales blow...then spotting them. That was cool...someone would hear the sound and then we'd all start looking around.
Other interesting sights were the totem poles of course,

 the salmon, which we did not see where we expected, in Ketchikan, but we did see in Skagway. I enjoyed the local arts and crafts. The greenery and flowers  in all the ports were pretty. Also enjoyed watching all the sea planes landing and taking off on their sight-seeing tours. That's the only way in and out in some of those ports....other than boats of course...and that was certainly different.
On our last cruise and this one, I often wondered how the locals feel about the cruise industry.

 Of course the constant influx of tourists brings in a lot of money....but I wonder if I'd like it if I lived there.? I don't know. It helps the economy, but the constant crowds coming and going would get to me I think. The beauty that attracts the crowds...is also compromised by them I think. I don't have the answer.

*we didn't ask if they were actual reindeer dogs or if the name of the place was Reindeer Dogs...hahahaha
I'll save photos from the whale watching trips for the next post..Until then...................