So many things to describe....

We spent Saturday and Sunday at Fur Rondy taking in events such as sprint sled dog races, hide and horn auction, dog weight pull and of course the first annual running of the reindeer! We took lots of pictures and videos but I haven't had time to review and cull for the blog.

Work is interfering with blogging.

I occasionally facilitate meetings and I have had 3 over the last week plus I have all day meetings tomorrow and Friday. This requires me to be absolutely pleasant - even captivating - for 6-8 hours at a time which means I am all out of creativity by the time I get home.

This weekend is Iditarod - there goes Saturday and probably Sunday!

Hopefully I will be creative sometime this weekend!

South Pacific Fish Pictures...

OK - this is just coral...

These were about 12 - 14 inches tall.

So....soft...just like velvet

And They're Off!!

Fur Rondy has started!

One of my favorite times of the year here!

At noon today, Robert and I walked over to watch the first round of the World Champion Sprint Sled Dog Races. The dogs LOVE to run and they were in prime form today.

This year we saw something different when one of the mushers started at full bore and one of the lead dogs slipped out of his collar. He was still in his harness but his collar was just flapping away. It took the chute runners (men stationed on the street to help if there are problems) a good block at a dead run to catch up to the sled and then it took the musher and two chute runners jumping on the sled dragging their feet to get it stopped. By then the dogs were getting ready to turn into the crowd. Of course the dogs don’t understand because they are ready to run for 30 miles and they only went a block. Luckily, no people or dogs were hurt. Unfortunately, the incident probably took the musher out of contention because of the 45 second delay getting the collar on again.

Weather this year is downright hot compared to this time last year. It was 40 degrees this afternoon. They had to truck snow in to pad the streets and the trail so the dogs wouldn’t be hurt. Tomorrow it is supposed to be cooler .. 27 or so. Perfect dog weight pull weather!

Warm and Breezy tonight....

Right now it is 6 pm and 39 degrees outside. We are losing snowpiles left and right and the roads are a sheet of ice. (Has Breakup arrived early???)

We have secured the grill for the evening due to the following warning from the National Weather Service....

"...LOW PRESSURE MOVING ACROSS THE GULF WILL BRING DANGEROUS WINDS TO TURNAGAIN ARM AND THE HILLSIDE THROUGH TONIGHT. SOUTHEAST WINDS 50 TO 70 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 90 MPH ALONG TURNAGAIN ARM AND THE HILLSIDE WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. WINDS WILL BEGIN TO SLOWLY DIMINISH EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING AND THEN QUICKLY FALL WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...."

We are located mid Hillside...maybe the winds will be only 1/2 as much.

This means Squirt will have to be on leash to go outside and everything will rattle all night long!

The hazards of living in Paradise!

Other Cruise Stops...

Of course, the cruise was wonderful. This ship was about 1/3 of the size boat we normally cruise on so you were always running into people you knew. Most passengers were either Canadian or American with a few Europeans and Russians about. We had excursions at every island which regardless of what we did included fresh papaya, coconut, star fruit, fish (blue fin marlin, mahi mahi) and rum punch or Hinano beer.

On Tahiti, we did a circle island tour stopping at several locations including the Gauguin museum and a little restaruant to feed the "pet" saltwater fish. They called this one a moon fish.

On Huahine, we did a historical walk through the village of Maeva looking at mareas (prehistoric temples) and other artifacts…along with vanilla plants and beans growing on a plantation. Plus we stopped off at a little creek running through part of the island to feed the blue-eyed eels. Unfortunately, there had been a mud slide and you couldn't see them very well..

Raratonga is part of the Cook Islands and associated with New Zealand. We were very lucky as we were actually able to land the day we were there. This was the first time in three months the ship had been able to off load passengers. We snorkeled.

Raiatea/Tahaa – We drift snorkeled in the coral garden – which is where we used one entire underwater camera. A drift snorkel is where there is a channel between to motus (islands) and you hike to one end of the channel, get in and just drift along with the current. The only work is to swim around the coral to avoid getting cut. I almost made it...however both of my knees and one shin took one for the team...

Bora Bora – We snorkeled on 2 different days in 2 different areas – both times feeding the sting rays. The second day when we snorkeled with the rays, the black tipped reef sharks decided to come in for lunch too. Robert told me I should get on the boat. I looked at him and said as long as you are holding the fish, I’m ok. I did stay with the sharks until there were 4 of them. Then we both got out. Of course the birds are trained just as well. We were able to throw food and they would catch it mid air.

We then returned to Mo’orea – and (surprise) more snorkeling however I think this was the most relaxing excusion we had. We went to a channel between two motus (small islands) and it was covered with a lovely fine sand. They had tables, lunch (fresh mahi mahi), drinks and no set itinerary. Just to spend a few hours in the water and on the beach in either sun or shade.

And sadly back to Tahiti to start the long journey home.

The water in all locations was absolutely beautiful and the fish amazing. Over the course of two weeks, I’ll bet we went swimming along reefs 15 – 20 different times and on every one we say different fish from puffers to flute fish to angels to neons, big and little both, along with the clams, anemones, urchins and corals. The colors are amazing – as if we were in a giant salt water tank only better.

We did bring back some vanilla beans (once dried they are a spice) and will soon be flavoring some rum and sugar with them. The underwater cameras should be developed by next weekend. If we got some good fish pictures, I will post those in the next couple of days!

Tourist life on Mo'orea

Finally – mail is caught up (paper and electronic), laundry is done from vacation, taxes are almost ready to be shipped off and Squirt is once again speaking to us….

As I mentioned, we were off gallivanting around the South Pacific. Our plane left Anchorage at 10:00am Friday, in a snowstorm (yes we got up early and shoveled everything one last time) with temps about 6 degrees. Dashing through Seattle (I had to buy sunglasses here – never thought to grab them at home) and Los Angeles, we arrived 23 hours later in hot, humid, sunny Papeete, Tahiti. Unfortunately, between the time we stood up in the airplane and got on the bus to leave the airport, someone stole Robert’s international cell phone. (Luckily they didn’t get his wallet.) He never felt a thing. So - no phone and no watch. But all of our luggage arrived!

After a 45 minute ferry ride, we landed at our final destination for the next three days - the island of Mo’orea (where they filmed South Pacific) and our bungalow over the water.
Thank goodness it was air-conditioned and - bunus- there was a window in the floor to watch the fish. We had back door with a deck connected to a lower platform allowing us to grab the snorkel gear and immediately jump into the warm water. The fish and coral were amazing.


Over the next few days we relaxed on the island. Ok – after the first 24 hours of trying to make a collect phone call to cancel the cell phone (we finally direct dialed), we relaxed. I woke up promptly at 6am every day on vacation ready to go discover things - such as my French skills are rather rusty and Robert’s are non-existent.

The second thing we discovered (the first being the lack of language skills) was the cost of living in Anchorage isn’t bad compared to the islands. Prices were phenomenal – even in the smaller downtown stores away from the tourist areas. Of course, the exchange rate didn't help right now but it wasn’t unusual to spend between $40-$60 on breakfast and more on dinner. I was starting to understand why there weren’t families with children at our resort!

We also discovered buffalo wings in French Polynesia aren’t necessarily the same as America. (And you wonder at our surprise?) It consisted of fried (skinny) chicken wings with ketchup all over them. However, the tomatoes and mozzarella were fantastic!

After 2 days of snorkeling in our lagoon and staying mostly on the resort property, it was time rent a car. We wanted to drive around the island…should we rent for 4 hours or 8 hours. We opted for 4 hours and decided to risk additional fees – of course everyone runs on “island time” and I wasn’t too concerned about being late.

There is one (narrow) road around the island and one road inland to the highest point with wild chickens everywhere (as a centipede deterrent). Most people used bicycles for transportation (it is a flat road around the island) and from all appearances, each day you were supposed to ride your bike to the bakery and pick up a bagette. The best way to carry your un-wrapped bagette is under your arm. (I didn't look at a piece of bread the same the rest of the trip!) Most drivers had trouble staying on their side of the road and stop signs were only used if the gendarme were present. Of course, there may have been very specific traffic signs but they were all in French and most of the time, we had no idea what they said. Robert did fantastic under the pressure of driving on the island.

Three and ½ hours later, we had shopped in both shopping areas, circled the island, went to the top of the mountain to take photos, ate lunch and still had 40 minutes to kill before the car would be late. Four hours was the proper choice.

Of course we saw beautiful flowers and incredible sunsets. What a great way to start a vacation!

Tuesday it was time to hit the cruise ship and start the next leg of the journey….unpacking once with scenery changing daily!

I've got new passport stamps!

Yes - we just got back from vacation. The last two weeks we have been putting around French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. Ports of call included Tahiti, Raratonga, Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa, Bora Bora and Mo'orea.

Once the massive piles of mail and laundry have been reduced, I'll attempt to regale you with Novice Alaskan learning's about the South Pacific...and toss in a few island paradise pictures!

PS -it was very hot and humid. Believe it or not, the cold (-15) felt refreshing last night when we stepped out of the taxi cab to unload the bags!