5/28/2013

It may be time for another well developed blog post, yep.  Another overnight visitor with me. 

Let's discard this unfounded optimism though and just hope I make it all the way to the end with limited typos and without degenerating into random symbols typed in the windings font. 

I suppose the best way to arrange this with my limited available mental capacity is to try to recap.  What have we been up to lately?

Or I could just act like a pirate.

Or perhaps a wise cracking rabbit with a New York accent? 

No?  A quick recap then.

We went back hiking in the remote wilderness of Alaska.  It was rugged and dangerous, but worth every step of hardship.

Having barely survived, we tested our luck by setting out to sea.  Bitter winds battered any exposed flesh and arctic cold tore every scrap of warmth from our weary bodies.

All in the quest of the wonderful majesty of nature. 



By the way, the above pictures features an Alaskan Coastal Brown bear.  Yeah, it does...really.  Promise.

Of course, the kids were thrilled with the amazing natural scenery around them and couldn't pry their eyes from the rail.  It doesn't matter that this is the third time on this same route.  Nature deserves nothing less than their rapt attention and devotion.

OK, enough sarcasm.  Here is a picture of the Marjorie glacier with another tour boat in the water checking it out.  For a sense of perspective, the boat is probably carrying over 100 people.  The glacier is 250 feet high or thereabouts and a mile wide.

It has been a long trip and we miss our family.  Only a couple of days until we leave the ship for a while.

Looking forward to it. 

5/23/13

SHould be another good post night.  I have time for it, which the astute Adventure Nickel reader recalls, means that I am on an overnight with a patient.  Good times. 

Trying not to be grumpy.  I am in another stretch where it seems like everything is turning against me.  Same thing happened last time I worked with this LMO too.  Weird.  I tend to get this almost paranoid thing going on where I am hyper-aware of every little slight.  So I try to do something of a reality check and realize I can't because I am on a cruise ship and there is very little reality around with which to compare.  Things like losing my third call day the day the new medical crew came on and then losing it again this coming weekend because new crew are coming on.  Things like getting asked to teach a three hour class on less than 24 hours notice.  Things like somone accidentally putting my phone number under the other nurses name so I get phone calls all night on my day off.  Add to all of this some other stylistic differences and it add up to me losing my cool about completely inconsequential things. 

"What IDIOT would shred all of the ingredients on a salad bar?  And all the salad dressings are CREAM BASED?  What Moron wouldn't put some oil based italian or balsamic vinaigrette?" 

People tend to doubt your stability when you get so upset about these trivialities.  But seriously, who puts up 7 cream based salad dressings and then a lone bottle of vinegar?  Sorry, I just can't let some things go.  So how was I feeling Max?

So, we were in Sitka today.

I was first call last time we were here and didn't get off.  The weather held again today and it was beautiful.  There is a very picturesque mountain just outside the town called, I believe, Mt. Edgecombe.  I'm not sure about the name of the one next to it, but they do sort of look like a before and after photo set.

I would be lying if I said there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  There was one.  This was it.

We got off the tender and started walking through parks and down streets toward a park at the end of town.  Michael has been interested in the martial arts lately and I have been teaching him some stances.  He's getting there.

Of course, there was some goofing off too.

Then we found the Sitka Sound Science Center.  I think it was developed for the rigorous study of tongue twisters.  Or sea life.

They had a small aquarium, a touch tank and a salmon hatchery.  The kids of course, loved the touch tank.

Because you can touch.

Then we got to the Sitka historical park.  Awful place.

It teaches about the early history of Sitka and how the Russians fought the natives here and ended up taking over the place.  There is also a beautiful park with a trail through the forest.  Get the kids off the ship and they just run and run and act all crazy.  Wait, they do it on the ship too. 

The park trail displays 11 totem poles that are no longer associated with any tribe.  I am guessing that means the tribes were all killed off.  Isn't history fun?  Really beautiful park though. 

5/21/2013

Glacier gazing day! 

This one was a little different than last time for two major reasons.  First, I was first call and confined to the dungeon.  Boo...hiss.  I only managed to get up above decks for a few minutes, but I did bring the camera, which leads me to the 2nd main difference.   It was a beautiful day.  Just gorgeous.  So, there are a few decent pictures.  I have around 1300 pictures on my memory card.  Sheesh. 

After dinner Max went to the kid's club, but Michael didn't want to go this time.  Instead, he chose to hang out with us and read a book  while we sat up by the Lido pook looking out at the scenery.  We saw lots of whales, but nothing fantastic like breaches.  Just some spouts. 

Michael has become a book nerd.  At least he comes by it honestly.  Since we started this cruise on 4/6, he has read the last 4 Harry Potter books, plus The Golden Compass and Julie of the Wolves and has started another book today.  We found a little bookstore in Juneau that has a ton of awesome books and a guy behind the counter that is big a book addict as I have seen.  We get in there and leave with a book every time.  So, he and Michael are becoming friends and he is suggesting books for Michael to read.  Pretty cute really.  So, on to some pictures.  Let's start with Juneau, yesterday.


Prior to arriving we noticed a ship following in the distance.  It is the Zuiderdam.  I think they are trying to get me back...patience Zuiderdam, patience. 

A fun picture of the mural on the city hall.

Part of teh treck up toward the mountain and trails.  Quite a few stairs for a little guy. 

Along another staircase is where I found my 'gold ike substance'  Believe it or not, this is it.  There are shiny flakes scattered amongst what appears to be quartz crystals. 

On to Glacier Bay.  See, not a cloud in the sky.  You can see a glacier in this one and the beautiful mountains in the background that were totally obsured by clouds last time.

Another shot of the Marjorie Glacier.  If you look close you can see a helicopter swooping in to land on it for a tour. 

Michael and Max.

I like this one.  What a spectacular day for glacier gazing.

Michael into his book. 

I love the blue ice of the glacier. 

Tomrrow, Sitka and third call.  Should be fun, if not so clear and beautiful.

5/14/2013 Wait...

Weren't we just at the equator?

We still have fog shrouded mountains rising majestically out of the water, but what is all this other stuff?  And, WHY IS IT SO COLD?!

You can see here that Sarah and Michael put on their game faces for this one. We're cold, but we are still happy picture posing.  Max, on the other hand, says no way.  It is COLD out here. 

So, yesterday we were in Juneau.  What do you do in Juneau?  Glad you asked.  If you are the Adventure Nickel clan, you look around...

WE get some coffee, good coffee - not ship coffee, and hot chocolate for the kids.  Then we wander around where Sarah says she saw a park listed on a map.  Of course, what is that in the background?  A mountain.  Is that a waterfall cascading thousands of feet down the side?  Yep.  So we wander some more, conspicuously up the slope and closer to the waterfall until we find a staircase leading...somewhere.

You can tell by the grin that this was Sarah's cunning plan all along.  The staircase led down to a soggy, muddy, baseball field.  We crossed it, lured by the sound of a rushing river and found...a rushing river.  With a trail alongside.  We walked the trail a bit until we found a river crossing.  It was very pretty. 

So we...uhhh...crossed it.  We continued the trail until we found a stream running across that was too rough to try to walk through.  Above we spied another trail and we hiked cross country until we made it.  Did I mention it was raining?  It was raining.  And slippery too. 

No matter, we hiked on until we again reached the slightly intimidating stream.  Then we turned around and hiked back out and into Juneau to return to the ship for dinner.  A few pictures:

Today was scenic cruising.  We sailed up Stephen's passage and saw Norris Glacier.

Hard to understand without a sense of perspective, but that glacier is much taller than the ship.  We obviously couldn't get very close to that one, so we got close instead to Marjorie glacier.  Which was featured prominently in teh opening montage, waaaayyyy up there on top. 


So, I'll show this picture.  I had just walked out on the deck and found a young woman had fallen.  Just as I determined she was OK, I heard sharp craking noises like tremendous Rice Crispies accompanied by several people shouting, "Look!"  So I turned and hipshot this picture.  You can see the snow fall after a large piece broke off and fell. 

We were close enough to hear the popping and the groaning as the glacier moved.  You could feel the cold radiating off the 200 foot high walls.  It was pretty cool.  As we sailed around, scenic cruising, we would occasionally pass an iceberg the size of a school bus. 

OK, so maybe a Volkswagon bus.  There were bigger ones too. 

And in case you are wondering why this is such an awesome and exceptionally well done blog post, it is because I am up standing watch with one of the two disembarks tomorrow in Sitka.  So, I had time. 


Welcome to Alaska. 

5/5/2013 Part 2 Rescue at sea

Well, no overnights all trip until back to backs.  Here I am again.

Guess what I did today.

The first one to show up was the C-130, which circled.  According to the rescue guy, they were there to refuel and had an emergency swimmer and parachute team in case of a helicopter crash.

Then the helicopter arrived, an Air Force Pavehawk.  The circled a few times and then came in to hover over the bow.

Where this guy emerged on the winch wire and wafted gently down to the deck.

 Eventually two gentlemen would lower with the basket and the backboard and tons of other gear strapped on.

So we invited them into the Officer's Bar for a drink and a patient.

They came in and found the patient ready and waiting.  We gave report and they checked him over, we got him transfered over.

These guys were pretty cool.  6'1, 220lbs of lean muscle leaping out of helicopters to come to the rescue with beach bum blond hair and square jaws.  The ladies in the room all swooned together and I thought we might have a mass casualty faint.  Luckily they kept it together.

Then we carried the basket out to the deck where they hovered again, with the C-130 still circling.

And he yelled with good cheer ere he rose out of sight: "Happy evac to all and to all a good night!"