Alaska! Ketchikan.

To celebrate our 65 birthdays, Robert and I decided to escape the heat of Bakersfield, and take a cruise to Alaska.  Actually, I had planned for us to take the train to Seattle, rent a car, then drive back to Bakersfield.  When I told this to Robert, a clouded look crossed his face, and he said, "why don't we take a cruise?"...hmm.  Worked for me...you know, I was all over that.  I found a Princess cruise that left from San Francisco, 10 days over two weekends, 4 days at sea, to Haines and Tracey Arm Fjord, which we hadn't visited before.  Price was right, mini suite balcony, no airplane travel, BINGO!  I booked it.  And discovered that you can now book spa appointments online, as well as personal training sessions, which I did immediately for the sea days.  Personal trainers were physical therapists, very safe exercising, and the facialist, whose name was Angel, belongs in heaven.  The dining was 3-5 stars, and I never once got glutened.  The chefs told me what to eat...we didn't go to eat, but it was nice not to get sick.

The sunset from our first night at sea:

Our first stop was Ketchikan, the rainiest city in the US.  Alaska's first city...logging and salmon.  Last time we were there, we went salmon fishing.  This time we opted for a rain forest tour.  It was raining...no big deal.  We were taken to a marina, outfitted with rain suits, (and the guy who fitted us should work in a women's clothing store, he was so spot on with picking sizes),

boarded a SeaHawk metal hulled (banana) boat, and started our journey to Betton Island, part of the Tongass National Forest, largest park in the US.

After a rainy, windblown, bumpity ride across a channel,

we stopped to view a bald eagle's nest, with three babies that were perched around the nest.  Until an eagle reaches maturity,4-5 years, it has dark plumage.  Females are larger than males.  The nest weighs about 1000 pounds, can go up to 2000.  Eagles mate for life.  If the male dies, the female widows.  If the female dies, the male gets a new mate.  In this pic, on the left, there is an eagle on the branch above the nest at 10 o'clock, and one on the right, about 1 o'clock.

This shows all three of them...it's like Where's Waldo.  The third one is on the far right,

4 o'clock ish.

We landed on a beach with our naturalist, Andy, a young guy who roams the world...when the season ends in Ketchikan, he is a ski instructor in Steamboat Springs, and is learning to be a helicopter guide (we learned that Haines offers the best helicopter skiing).  Last year he skied in Japan...ah the life.  There were all sorts of urchins, starfish: 

 Very strange.

Andy led us on an old rainforest trail, which featured hemlock, spruce, cedar trees.  Berries and mushrooms.  The superficial rooted cedar trees blow over, and become new growth centers.  The natives would only strip the bark from the protected side of the tree, and used the hollow trees for canoes.  Bears hibernate in the covies the trees provide.  There are quagmires, ferns, moss, lichens (a fun(guy)gus and a(gal)lge took a li(ken)chen to each other...Alaskan humor).

We ate these berries.

Cedar tree. 

 Canoe tree.

Downed tree, with roots covered in moss and growth.

New growth from roots.

 

Andy in quagmire.

                                                                     Elephant!

This is Fred, a two man hand "misery" saw was used for logging this tree.  It would take a whole day, back forth...  Now, when the logging industry receives permission to fell a tree, they will use a helicopter and chains to hoist it out of the forest...that must be a lot or wood to cover the cost.  Notice the bear cove, lower left?

Lush, lush, lush.

An Alaskan slug...yuk.

An upside down tree...roots growing on top of tree...it's crazy there! 

Rainbow bridge tree. 

We started back to Ketchikan, even though rainy, still beautiful. 

Oh, just another eagle. 

Hark, what could this be?  Just your basic nuclear sub refueling station...of course, the subs aren't seen, and no boat is allowed near it. 

Back in Ketchikan...because houses were built going up the hills (no flat land), the staircases, which provide the houses only access, have street names. 

Lots of seaplane activity. 

Tomorrow, Haines!

Herodium, and Our Last Day.

For our last day in Israel, since our organized tour was over, we arranged for a private tour guide.  Our guide Ron made the arrangement, and said to us "see if you can get Amos  to tell you his story"....hmm.  As we drove through the streets of Jerusalem, I said to  Amos, "have you always been a tour guide?"...Amos, "no, I worked for the state, am retired".  Robert, "what did you do?"  Amos, "I cannot tell you"...code for intelligence.  I said, "are you familiar with Daniel Silva books?"  (They're books about an Israeli Mossad agent.)  Amos chuckles and says "some of what he says might be accurate"...we all laughed.  We made a few turns, and I notice that the street we're on is Narkiss St., the street where the Silva protagonist lives...I said, ' hey, we're on Narkiss St.", and again Amos chuckled.  I liked him.
We set off for Hadassah Medical Center to see the Chagall windows in the synagogue...we couldn't go in because it was Saturday (services), but we got to walk through the multiple buildings, some very modern, with glass escalators, which weren't turned on, because it was Sabbath.  Here's an internet photo of some of the windows....gives us a reason to go back!

 Amos suggested we go to Herodium, a hilltop palace Hedod built for himself, including a burial site, which wasn't used.  We started talking politics, now we could get the real story, since we weren't in a protected group.  He drove us right up to the wall that separates Jerusalem from Bethlehem, which is in Area A, illegal for Israelis to enter.

 Bethlehem on the other side of the wall.

 Just like crossing from San Diego to Tijuana...not.

We continued south of Bethlehem, within Area B.  As we approached Herodium, we came to a roadblock, which we passed through quite easily.  A picture of a sign that tells Israelis to stay out.

Herodium, 20-10 BCE, is about 2500 ft above sea level, the highest hill around.  Herod had the top excavated, so that it looks like a volcano crater.  We parked off to the right, and then started the walk up the slippery, rutty, rocky road.  I dreaded the walk down (my knees), but fortunately, Amos had other plans.

When we reached the top, what an incredible view of the structures below and surrounding sites.  This is a lower palace and bath...bathes everywhere.

                                      

A cave where some Monks lived.

West Bank settlement (red tile roofs).

A rendition of the fortress/palace.

 This is a new excavation...maybe 30 years old.  Very special to see.  One can only imagine how much else there is to see...why I want to go back.

No mortar, stone on stone.  Amazing.  The synagogue, you can always tell, because they had benches, seating. 

So here is Amos' plan for our return to the car...through the tunnels that led to the rain fed cisterns, and then later for hiding, escaping.

 They made concrete for the cistern walls.

 Amos explaining the chronology to Robert...I still don't have it straight, they must think we're idiots, they know so much history.

We came out at the level of the theater and Herod's tomb.

 Some precision stone work, just over 2000 years old.  I can't get someone to hang a gate.

 As we headed back to the car, we heard the Islamic call to prayer, from several minarets in the valley...it was beautiful.

After lunch, we went to the Israel Museum, which had what has to be the world's most complete collection of antiquities.  We saw 250,000 year old tools, vessels, 4000 year old round sarcophagi, and this reconstructed Herodium bath house.

As we headed back toward Mt. Scopus for one last view of the city, we went by the UN Headquarters...they've got their work cut out...I don't see how there can ever be peace here, there is too much distrust and just pure hate.  We went into this very open minded, we don't like the West Bank settlements, we think they should stop building there.  Most Israelis don't want the settlements, they would only keep those closest to the border, and trade land for them.  The Palestinians would get farms, communities...but they won't do it.  They want Israel gone.  Period.  That isn't going to happen.  We don't think the Israelis are the bad guys in this.

 You can see Herodium off in the distance peeking above Jerusalem.

As we looked out over the city, we saw several big black fires, with the smoke plumes coming into Jerusalem.  Amos told us that when the wind blows toward Jerusalem, the Palestinians light piles of tires on fire, so the smoke will pollute the air.  Apparently, their favorite time to do this is Sabbath and Holy Days.  This is a picture of one of the fires taken from Herodium.  Jerusalem is just beyond Bethlehem.

And here's a picture of our group...it was a great trip, sorry it had to end.

We were able to upgrade to business class on the way home...yeah, actually slept for 6-7 hours.  No problems at customs, home we went!  And now to plan the next trip...