Day 873

When I saw this sign by the gas station this morning I knew it was speaking to me. But my goal today is small. Get through my infusion. Period.

Day 872

Yep, Lisa, kitty was happy to see us.

Day 871

There is a reason we went out of our way to go through Walla Walla, Washington. It's because of their onions, of course. If you've never had a Walla Walla onion you're missing out. And it just so happens they have something going on this weekend.

How about a huge blooming onion made fresh as you look on? It was yummy.

As we were watching the onion eating contest hubby decided it would be a good time to try a caramel onion. A Walla Walla dipped in caramel. He thought it was delicious.

And Scooter came in handy when we bought a bag of onions to take home. Unfortunately home will be our destination tomorrow. Suck the Marrow Tour Part Two is coming to an end.

Day 870

I might be deemed crazy for taking pictures of elevator doors. But I couldn't resist when I saw the elevator in our Leavenworth hotel, The Bavarian Lodge.

First floor  elevator door

Second floor elevator door

Third floor elevator door

But to prove I'm not crazy I took a regular-type picture of the Columbia River on our way to Walla Walla, Washington.

Day 869 Leavenworth, Washington

Lyrics from a Zac Brown Band song:

I got my toes in the water, a** in the sand

Not a worry in the world, a cold beer drink in my hand

Life is good today, life is good today.

Since we started the Suck the Marrow Tour Part 2 hubby has been singing those lyrics. All the places we've been - Hood River, Mt. Hood, Portland, Cannon Beach, Mount St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, Seattle, Alaska - I never could get Scooter close enough to the water to let me dip my toes.

Until today.

For behind the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, Washington, behind all the shops and restaurants, down a steep gravel road, across winding dirt paths through trees and forest, Scooter found her way. A few steps by me down a little sandy embankment, and bingo!

I even waded out a bit more to get some pictures of the Wenatchee River.

Then I found what I want to try next! But after watching a while I decided it might take too much lung capacity. Dang. 

Then as we were eating lunch at South, a Mexican restaurant (Delicious Mexican food in a German town? Go figure.) I saw what I really want to try next. But I imagine my screams would probably use up all the oxygen. Darn.

As I said to hubby after we walked  huffed and puffed Scooter back up the steep hills that had lead to the river when all else fails, I can take pictures.
The hotel.

 The village of Leavenworth.

Dinner at Muchen Haus.

 All the mustards to choose from.

Yep, life is good today, life is good today.

Day 868

We love the vacation movies with Chevy Chase -National Lampoon's Vacation, European Vacation, Vegas Vacation, and Christmas Vacation. We have the entire collection and quote movie lines frequently. One line hubby uses when things are boring comes from European Vacation. Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to take a picture of his family in front of a fountain. His son Rusty says, The Griswolds in front of a fountain...major entertainment.

So today hubby said, Deb riding a bus on her birthday...major entertainment. And yep, it was boring. We spent 4+ hours riding on a bus from Vancouver, BC to Seattle. (Remember last year I swore I'd never drive in Vancouver again? This was the alternative way from the cruise ship.)

Add another couple hours waiting at the airport for the shuttle to pick us up and take us to our car, loading the car, driving to another town to find the pharmacy for hubby's prescription refill, a quick fast food lunch, and a full gas tank.

Technically we should now be officially heading home from our extended Suck the Marrow Tour Part Two. But:
A. I have another infusion coming up on Monday.
B. It's my birthday.
C. I'm just not ready to stop this adventure.
D. All of the above.

D. is correct. I want to squeeze every bit I can out of life right now. The infusion will knock me down for a week. Then the following week I return to work. Full time. So adventures will be over. But not yet.

So add another 3 hours of driving time today. I'm too pooped to go out to eat so it's pizza delivery. Pepperoni and garlic, with a breadstick and dipping sauce. Add in a mini lava cake the hotel sent my way. And I can't forget the nice little note hubby gave me. I love that he recognizes how important living large is to me right now. (Sorry, I hid the rest of what he wrote.)

And where is all this happening? Here.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings in this town.

Day 867

This time last year hubby didn't even wish me happy birthday. This year he had a card for me and
candles ready for the Princess cake. And my birthday isn't even until tomorrow!

Day 866

Today while we were in Ketchikan hubby refused to let me take one single picture of flowers. It was probably because when we were in Skagway I wandered the neighborhoods – and dragged him along with me - to find my pictures of the flowers.

So what did I find instead? Salmon swimming up Creek Street. Lots of salmon! Looks like spawning is on their agenda for the week.

Day 865

Remember this tram? I took this picture today. But last year on Day 501 I rode this tram in Juneau.

Back then I was so excited about tackling my fear of heights and was able to ride the tram with no fear and look out the windows of the buildings and take pictures over the edge with no fear.

Unfortunately today was one of my post-chemotherapy medicine days and I'm dragging. Dragging where so much I didn't get off the ship at all. Too bad, too. Scooter was looking forward to riding the tram with me this time.

Although I found something out about the tram today that I didn't know last time. Take a look at where it ends up - hanging off over the cliff. Geez, maybe I should have been scared last time!

Day 864

Today’s visit into Skagway produced two things.

1. Wildflowers and annuals. Unfortunately I didn't bring my Alaska wildflowers book this trip so I haven’t much clue as to what I discovered.

2. A new house to live in. Pretty as can be.

Don’t worry, we didn't buy it – didn't even look inside – but it made me wonder…how would my mom feel about living in Skagway, Alaska instead of in our place in Boise? She’d sure get to grow huge rhubarb. (That’s hubby’s hand for comparison.)

Day 863: Glacier Bay Day

Today was a day of firsts. You’d think as many times as we've cruised to Alaska we wouldn't run into anything new. We were surprisingly wrong.

The morning started out with the ship heading back into Glacier Bay for another day of glacial sightseeing. But the ship didn't get far before the captain made an announcement. Someone on the ship was ill and required a Coast Guard rescue. Being we were miles away – this is Alaska - a helicopter was dispatched and we turned around, headed back to the inlet of the bay, and waited for the medevac arrival.

As the estimated time of arrival varied greatly, we were instructed not to forbidden to go out on any of the decks. We were essentially sequestered inside the ship. No problem for us, but some folks seemed to get quite huffy about not being allowed outside. Probably because it wound up being three hours before the rescue was finally complete. While I didn't see the rescue, the Coast Guard helicopter had to make several passes before positioning itself.

While our trip to the gorgeous Margerie Glacier was delayed three hours it worked out for the best. If it wasn't for the delay, we wouldn't have seen (and felt) what eventually occurred.

The weather cleared up. Tenters and kayakers were around (a first for us to see in Glacier Bay).

The glacier was in rare form. Sunny skies? Check. Multiple calvings? Check. The first time we've ever seen so many in one visit. Look at this big calving, frame by frame. Before it started there were two tunnels. Not afterwards.

Then, a really big first. A huge collapse caused a huge wave (you can see it in the picture). That huge wave – someone called it a tsunami-looking wave – headed to the ship. And for the first time ever for us in Glacier Bay a calving glacier caused our ship to rock sideways. A strange feeling.

How do you top that? How about visiting the Johns Hopkins Glacier and capturing the magnificence of Glacier Bay. Like I said before, if you haven’t been YOU MUST GO.