A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

We've had a blast this year and we're looking forward to 2009. We rang in 2008 with our good friends George and Tammy McGowan on New Year's Eve. Went to Jazz Festivals in Vegas, downtown Salt Lake, and Phoenix. Took a 2 week cruise to Alaska. Went to County Jam Festival with George and Tammy in Grand Junction, Colorado, Took a quick trip to England. And relaxed for a week in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It's going to be hard to top this year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Even though I have quite a few different nativity sets, this year I decided to set up the newest one. Dave and I purchased this set in May 2008, during our trip to Alaska. We found it in a gift shop in Denali National Park, and I just fell in love with the rabbit skin pelt, the little Eskimo figurines, the polar bear, the husky dog and the seal. I love how they all are watching over the little newborn. We have it sitting under our Christmas tree and every night when we turn on the Christmas tree lights and light the menorah, I look at the set and smile, (remembering our trip to Alaska). My wish this Christmas to everyone is that you will remember or find something wonderful and good in your life, that gives you a smile. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.

Happy Chanukah & Merry Christmas
I got my new 2009 Honda Civic GX today. It is an all natural gas car. I know, I know, I will be able to fuel it forever without visiting a gas station. It is silver with gray interior. No power driver's seat which is a good thing because I was tire of replacing fuses in the Saturn. The CD player will play MP3 CDs and it has an Aux input for an iPod (or whatever). I am moving the 10-CD auto changer that Barb got for me, and Sirius satellite radio that Jared got for me to this new car. It is so quite but gutless. When I step on the gas pedal it looks at me and says "Just a minute, buddy." I'll just have to get used to it. It has an all digital dashboard that has a cool blue color.

Our Cabo MEXICO vacation trip

Well we finally got a chance to have a real, (relaxing), vacation this year. Not one where we were up early every morning running all over to catch all the sights, but a real vacation where we could just sleep in and take long naps in the middle of the day and be lazy bums. IT WAS WONDERFUL! We went to Cabo San Lucas, MEXICO the day after Thanksgiving for our annual week long vacation trip, (during the day the temps were in the high 80's and in the evenings it was in the low 70's). This year we did not plan anything in the way of activities, we just decided to relax. On Sunday, we took a sunset sail cruise. There were only 9 people on our boat and everyone is in a very laid back mood, and it wasn't a party boat - Very nice.

On Tuesday we took a large catamaran along with 12 other people to Saint Maria Beach and Snorkeled. Afterwards they had a B-B-Q on the boat for us. On the boatride back to Cabo, we saw two whales. It was a little early for the whales, but those with cameras got great photos.

On Thursday we wondered into town and visited the lion exhibit and had our photo taken with the baby lion and tiger. They were so adorable!! I may have to use this photo for our Christmas card!!

The rest of the time, we just swam in the heated pool that was only 20 feet from the front door of our little casa, ate good food, and relaxed. We made a few more local friends and had laughs. Now we have to work hard and get ready for our return trip to Cabo the first of May 2009, with our friends Tammy and George McGowan. We hope to get in some deep sea fishing on that trip.

The Thanksgiving I Remember

These days when Thanksgiving Day approaches, I tend to get a little nostalgic. Not for my mom's turkey and all the trimmings dinner, but for my great-grandmother's Thanksgiving dinners, (on my dad's side). She used to have these hugh dinners with the extended family in attendance, and as I look at the photos I am surprised at how much I actually do remember those dinners and how many of the people I remember.

A little of the background: My father, (being the oldest grandson), is named after his grandfather. And I, being the first born great-granddaughter, was named after his grandmother. And my father and I were what you might call a little spoiled by grandma and grandpa. And they didn't care who was around, they had no shame in showing favoritism.

The one Thanksgiving that I remember as my all time favorite, was the year I was 6. That year my great-grandparents and my dad's parents came to our house for Thanksgiving. Wow, it was wonderful. My grandmothers brought all kinds of food and worked in the kitchen with my mom. After dinner, everyone sat around and played card games, until late into the night. Then it was decided that it was too late for my great-grandparents to drive home, (cause grandpa's eyes weren't as good as they used to be). So they would stay the night and go home the next morning. So dad's mom and dad left for home, and my mom made up her and my dad's bedroom for grandma and grandpa. Early the next morning, I ran into grandma and grandpa's room to proudly announce that it had snowed during the night and they couldn't go home in the snow, so they would have to stay overnight again. But, grandma said no, they needed to get on the road for home. I was so sad, I thought my little heart would break. But grandpa sit down, and told me to remember how much fun we had yesterday, and to always remember all our good times. I promised him that I would.

And now that they have been gone for over 40 years, I still remember the good times with them. I remember sitting in grandma's kitchen, eating with them and sharing my secrets with them. Knowing that my secrets were safe. Listening to their words of wisdom, knowing that they wouldn't steer me wrong. I was 13 when my great-grandmother passed away, and I thought my world would never be the same. I sure grandpa felt the same. When I got my license and my car, I drove to see him at least every other month. By then he had lost his sight, but his mind was sharp and we still shared secrets and lunches of soups and sandwiches. When grandpa passed away I was 20 years old and I knew that I had lost the two people who loved me unconditionally and without judgement. My father felt the same pain, (my mother told about his retreat into their bedroom to grieve that afternoon). We both knew that we would never had that kind of love again in our lives. But we have our photos and our memories. And when I see them again in the next life, we will once again share secrets. Here's a couple of photos from the Thanksgiving in 1958.
Can you find me ???...

THE FIRST DAY I WENT WOLVERINE HUNTING

I remember the day well over 50 years ago when my great-grandfather smiled and told me that I was finally old enough now to go Wolverine hunting on Saturday, with him and my father. I ran into the kitchen proudly announcing to my great-grandmother, “Grandpa’s taking me wolverine hunting with him next Saturday”!! She just shook her head, looked at him and said “You already spoiled my only grand-daughter, at least let my 4 year old great-grand-daughter be a little girl”. To which he replied, “Non-sense. Look at her, she’s definitely a BUCKEYE. That brown hair, brown eyes, freckles, and tom-boy attitude. And she already knows how to read, write, and all her numbers – she’s already an OSU shoe-in!!” At the time I wasn’t really sure what all the talk was about, but I was proud to know that I was a BUCKEYE. Something I had heard since the day I was born. And I knew that Buckeyes hated wolverines and wolverines hated buckeyes. And now we were going to go out and hunt them down!!! Maybe grandma would cook them up for Thanksgiving!
Well Saturday morning bright and early, we got up and dressed warm and Dad and I drove up to his dad’s and picked up grandpa Long, and Great-grandpa. Then, over to my Uncle Charley’s; to get him, my Uncle Eugene, and my Aunt Cleo. (my dad's brothers and sister). WOW – those wolverines must be real fighters to take so many of us to hunt ‘em down. Aunt Cleo and I sat in the rear of the panel station wagon, facing towards the back. Aunt Cleo said it was about a 3 hour drive down to Columbus to the big house, and we had to be there well before the noon hour. I only remember just snip-its of the conversation, but I do remember one of my uncles talking about the shot-gun formation and I took a good look around the car, but I couldn’t find our guns. I asked Aunt Cleo, “How are we gonna’ get the wolverines without our guns”? She laughed and told everyone what I said, and my grandpa said, “don’t you worry, our old buddy Woody’s got that all figured out by now”.
Finally we arrived at the Big House. (The Ohio State Stadium, the famous "Horse Shoe"; built in 1922 - Home to 2 Conference Titles, 32 Big Ten Conference Titles, 21 All- Americans, and 7 Heisman Trophy winners, (all current statistics – for those of you who are wondering). WOW, I thought, is this something or what. We passed through the gates, and we were at the football stadium. Then I got my first real lesson in life, football, and the “F” word. Which in Ohio, even in the most religious home you are allowed to use that four letter word – provided it is followed by the name Michigan. And that’s the only time you are allowed to use that “M” word in the Ohio Stadium, and on these hallowed grounds, was when it was prefexed with the "F" word. Yes back in 1958, we held things to a different standard that they do today. It was good game, I learned so much from my uncles, my grandfathers, my dad, and my aunt. You can win every game all year, but you'd better not lose to "M", and you can lose every game all year, but you'd better whip "M's" ass.
The family has a bond that runs deep when it comes to OHIO STATE FOOTBALL, and the score that day; OSU 20, M 14. We came away victorious!! I road home with a tummy full of hot dogs, soda pop, and anything else I could get the adults to buy. When the home team is winning, everyone is generous with their money!! But I also learned that football roots in Ohio run VERY deep, and I passed that on to my own son, who is also a born and breed BUCKEYE fan. And now I live 1800 miles away in Utah, and tomorrow these poor souls will have their little rivalry game between Utah and BYU. But they don’t know true rivalry that has lived and been played at high noon every single years, (during rain, sun, and snowstorm), since 1897. And when the noon hour arrives, (10:00 am our time), I will sit down in front of the television, (as I do every year), and I will fondly remember my Great-grandfather, my grandfather, and all the other family members who passed on this great love of football and the love for this great school to me. Win or lose, I am still a BUCKEYE at heart. And tomorrow when all the Utahans ask whom I’m cheering for, I will just smile, look at them, and just say…

Our Trip to ENGLAND

Well we're back from jolly old England, or rather I should say cold wet old England. We left Salt Lake on Tuesday morning, (Oct 28th), at 11:00 am and arrived in London at 8:00 am Wednesday morning. We met up with 3 other people, (from the company that Dave was doing a presentation for) in Atlanta and flew to England with them, and they rented a car and the 5 of us crowed into the car and drove from London to Bristol. Along the way, (a 4 hour drive), we stopped in Salisbury and had lunch and saw one of the 9 original Magna Cartas. VERY IMPRESSIVE. We were not allowed to take photos. The cathedral where the document is housed was moved to the site in the 1600's, and was so beautiful. From there we drove to Stonehenge. We arrived in Bristol around dinner time. It was very interesting to meet the different people attending the meeting in this area, from different countries. We had a lot of laughs.

On Thursday,while Dave was in meetings, I walked down to the train depot and went to the town of Bath, and took a tour of the ancient Roman bath houses and the country-side. It was a very interesting day, to discover how the Romans knew in 400AD the methods to build such a detailed bath house. I also toured Sally Lunn, the original bakery that made bread for the monastery, (when all the ovens were out-lawed). I also shopped the little shops and vendors. Then, I caught the train back to Bristol and met up with Dave and the group from his meeting, and we went to a French Restaurant for dinner. On Friday morning I walked around old Bristol town pier and took more photos.

Then on Friday afternoon, Dave and I got the train from Bristol to London. We arrived in London around 6:00pm, and took a taxi to our hotel. Then we hurried and changed for a dinner cruise. Very nice. On Saturday, we arose early at 6:00am, and got a Grey-line tour and tour around London. We saw the House of Parliament, Big Ben, the Buckingham Palace, Prince Charles and Camilla's house, the changing of the Guards, (impressive but not as impressive and the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier!!), The Tower of London, (this is where the crown jewels are all housed, (now that's an impressive site !!, sorry girls, they wouldn't let me take any photos), The Household Calvary, and so much more. We were really moving, and it rained that whole day. Then after a quick dinner, we did all of our souvenir shopping and packed our bags, for our early Sunday morning, (11/2) trip back home to the good old USA. We arrived home at 8:30 pm. And we were so exhausted. But it sure felt good to be back home and in our own beds again. But we wouldn't have missed the trip. We made new friends and have lots of photos and memories.

Phoenix Festival In The Desert

Over the week of October 10th - October 12th, Dave and I went to Phoenix to attend the "Festival In The Desert". This started out just as a quick little get a way for Dave and I, and ended up being a family get together. Dave's brother Bruce and his wife Gretchen joined us for the Festival and we stayed at their brother Robert's house. It was a really fun weekend. And we got to me their sister-in-law Sheryl's new fiancee'. Robert and his wife Jeanne has a cook out for everyone on Thursday night and we all sit around the pool and talked and laughed until late at night. The weather was great on Friday - 95 degrees, and the acts were wonderful, (Brian Culbertson, Jeff Kashiwa, Steve Cole, Kim Waters, Euge Groove, and Patti LaBelle). On Saturday the weather was quite a bit cooler only 78, but the acts were even hotter, (Eric Darius, Warren Hill, Dominic Amato, Ky-Mani Marley, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, The Temptations, Norman Brown, Paul Taylor, Chante Moore, Alex Bugnon, Peter White, Gerald Albright, Jeff Golub, Mindi Abair, and Smokey Robinson). Dave and I didn't stay for Sunday's performance, since we had to be back to work Monday morning. But Bruce and Gretchen went for Sunday's acts, (Jerome Calia, Sahnas Brothers, Craig Chquico, Guitar Shorty, Chuck Hall Band, Dr. John, Los Lobos, Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Pat Benatar, Neil Gjraldo, and Boz Scaggs).

Dave arranged for a meet and greet with his all-time favorite sax player, Mindi Abair. He also, at the last minute, arranged for Bruce and Gretchen to join us backstage also. Earlier in the day, Dave purchased a small gold sax in a red velvet lined box and had Mindi sign the inside of the box for him. He now has it in his office. I always tease him about Mindi being his "girlfriend". Mindi's road manager even took photos of us with her, she is such a nice person. I think that Bruce and Gretchen were a little "star struck". But, Dave has done several of these Mindi meet and greets, and he is at ease around her and talks to her like an old friend. I told Mindi that Dave's starting to become her roadie stocker... she just laughed...

I bought the shirt that Dave's wearing in the photo, at the festival, as one of his anniversary gifts. Anyways, we had a good time, and when we got home on Sunday evening, we were so tired, but we have good memories of the trip.

Happy 5th Anniversary to my Lovely Wife!

Today we are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary.  I have been very blessed to have married such a wonderful person.  We have had a lot of fun together since we met.  Barb's laughter is very contagious, in fact every time she laughs our cat Callie will come right to her.  Callie probably thinks that Barb is purring to her.  Barb has brightened up our home with her special touches; she truly has turned our house into a home.  My absolute favorite time of the day is waking up to snuggle with her.  We have been blessed with the ability to do some fantastic traveling from Cabo San Lucas to Australia to all over the U.S. including a cruise and land tour of Alaska and we are looking forward to our upcoming trip to England.  I wanted to get her something very special to commemorate our 5th anniversary so I found this beautiful Journey Vine Pendant.  Since the Alaska cruise was our anniversary gift to each other, I presented the pendant to her on the cruise.  She looks gorgeous in it (the picture was taken on our balcony on the cruise ship).  I just want to take this opportunity to say "THANK YOU FOR FIVE WONDERFUL YEARS, AND HERE'S TO MANY MORE!" I love you very much, Dave.

Strawberry Roses

Friday, (9/26), was Dave's 52nd birthday, and I surprised him at work with a delivery of a bouquet of strawberry roses, (these were strawberries that were stuffed with marshmellows). All the guys at his office thought they were pretty neat and very different, and he was kind enough to share them with the office, and bring home what was left, (which was still quite a lot). I also gave him a street sign that reads "Kronenberg Drive" for his home office. Everyday that whole week he got a card in the mail at the office from me. And on Friday evening, we went to his favorite restaurant, Market Street. Dave had 3 King Crab Legs and a large plate of mussels. On Saturday evening, we went to Mike and Tami's for dinner, and to celebrate all the family September birthdays, (Dave's Mike's and mine). So, he had a pretty good birthday.

Dave's Addicted - We need to do an Intervention !!

Dave's not been getting much sleep lately, and he's been spending a lot of time in his room on his computer. At first I thought he was busy with work, (they are installing this new software and it's a HUGH undertaking for the whole I/T department). Then he admitted to me that he's been spending his time with Bubbles. At first I wasn't too concerned - I thought that Bubbles was just the pole dancer at the local bar down the street. But then to my horror, I found out that Bubbles is a computer game. Yes that's right - Dave has been spending hour after hour every night playing Bubbles. He's so addicted that one morning he started playing at 4:30 am and he was supposed to leave for work by 6:15, and at 6:20 he was still at the computer playing Bubbles. He wasn't even dressed - he was just sitting there in his underwear playing Bubbles. I told him, just turn the game off and go to work. He said "NO - I'll lose my place and have to start all over again." He won't even turn off the game, he leaves his computer turned on to Bubbles all day, so that when he comes home from work he can sit down and continue playing the game. He's got the his mind made up that he can beat the computer and clear off the board.

And to make matters worse, he's now started introducing his friends to the game, and getting them hooked on it. And I already know the dangers of this game - I'm the one who introduced Dave to Bubbles, but at least I can play one or two games and turn it off and walk away. IT'S ONLY A GAME !! So beware, if he offers you one game, and says it's all in fun - RUN, don't play even one game. I told him, he's like a drug dealer. He gives you a little taste and then you want more, and more, and more until your hooked. Now what kind of a friend gets his other friends hooked like that. And I remember a couple of years ago Dave's exact words to me were "I NEVER play computer games".

Well - on to some serious news.

Dave found out that he's going to Bristol ENGLAND the end of October for a week. He has to do a presentation in conjunction with the new software that's being installed at his workplace. And the company is also paying for my plane fare - YEA. This is be a one time trip, (like our trip to Australia), so we're planning on making it a good one.

Tomorrow we get our new carpeting installed. So, we have been spending the evenings packing up our crap, uhh, I mean valuables and moving them out of the way. The only problem is we have more stuff than room to put the stuff. And my arms are so sore from carrying boxes. Dave says it's like moving only worse, cause we have to put everything away again.

Well the next time I write hopefully everything will be back in place and we will like the way the new carpet fits in.

HELP - It's gotten out of hand !!

Remember I said we've had lots of squash from our garden. Well, the truth is.. it's getting a little out of hand lately. Back at the end of Spring, when the peas were starting to die out, I planted just 3 little yellow squash seeds. I figured - we'll have enough from these three little seeds. So, I also planted our carrots close by. Well, the squash TOOK OVER that whole corner of the garden. Well - see for yourself, and this is after I cut about 1/3 away so the basil and cilantro could get sunlight and water: Last year, we couldn't get any squash, zucchini, or cucumbers at all to grow. This year the yellow squash really is making up for it.

On another good note, Tiffany came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. She told her doctor that she was going stir-crazy in the hospital and she needed to go home. She said "she's already feeling much better, just being at home". We're hoping that she's going to be ok being discharged so early.

Dave and I picked out new carpet for the house. It's a light brown color and they should be installing it in about 1 1/2 weeks. Dave says he'll be glad to be rid of this blue carpet after 13 years.

Well - guess I'd better go out and cut down some more squash plants, and pick more vegetables.

End of Summer

Well this is pretty much the last big weekend for the summer. Let's see what has happened that I haven't written about for the past couple of weeks. Well.. our little Oliver was in Primary Children's Hospital with a bladder infection. Luckily they caught it in time before it became serious and he only needed one treatment of antibiotics. So he only had to be in the hospital for one day, and then they sent him home. And boy is he ever gaining weight now. He's filling out and looking so healthy. And growing like a weed, and he's starting to smile - LOTS.

And now this weekend his mom, (Tiffany), is in the hospital with several blood clots on her right lung. Today she's doing better, but the blood thinners aren't working as well as the doctors had hoped. So far she has gone 3 days without any cigarettes and she says she is determined to kick this habit. Dave and I are behind her 110%. I told her it only takes 21 days to make or break a habit. Dave said if she goes another 18 days, (which makes 21 days), without smoking we will take her out to a fancy restaurant for dinner. She said "your on - it's a deal". So, we're rootin' for her to win this one!!

Tonight Dave and I had Dakota, Kaitlyn, Courtney (our grand kids), Jason, (Courtney's husband), and Blair, (0ur great grand-daughter) over for dinner and an evening of Wii games. It was fun and yet wore us out. Dakota and Kaitlyn tried to out score me on the Wii Fitness games. The only one that they were successful on was hoola hoops. Dakota said "she might be old, but she's good". Dave just laughed and said "ya baby".

Little Blair was fussy this evening, and it appears as though she might already be cutting her first tooth. Pretty soon, she'll be eating steak with Great-Grandpa Dave.

Two weeks ago Dave and I canned 25 quarts of green beans that we bought from the farm stand. We have picked lots of yellow squash from our garden and have been sharing with Mike and Tami. We are starting to pick our tomatoes, anaheim peppers, and cucumbers and hopefully will have plenty to share with Mike and Tami. Dave has enjoyed our having fresh basil and cilantro to add to my homemade sauces and salsas.

Well it's almost September and I'm hoping to do a better job of posting more information and photos of our life and family. Until them - thanks for reading.

End of the Olympics

Well, the Olympics are finally over. Dave and I tried to watch as much as possible. That Michael Phelps was phenomenal, and Usain "Lighting" Bolt, (the young runner from Jamaica), was so much fun to watch. I was so glad to see the "Redeem Team" bring the gold back home. Dave especially liked watching the girls volleyball matches. He kept saying "Nice uniforms - bikinis !!!" And Shaun Johnson - I think she's the cutest little thing. We recorded lots of our regular programs and now we're trying to catch up on them. Hope everyone else enjoyed them and got to watch their favorite parts. Here's my favorite olympic cartoon "Michael Phelps At A VERY YOUNG AGE":

All Set up to Post Blogs Under my name

OK today Dave set it up so now I can post to the Blog under my name and not his. So now when you read our blog - Dave won't sound so feminine, (since I'm the one writing all the info). Thanks for bearing with us while we learn all this.

2 New Great Grandbabies

This Summer, we have had 2 new additional family members. On Sunday, May 25th, our step grand-daughter, (Courtney), had our newest Great grand-daughter. Her name is Blair Daisy. She weighed in at 7 lbs., and had lots of brown hair. She is the most adorable rolly healthy beautiful little girl. Then, on Sunday, July 13th, her twin sister, (Tiffany), gave birth to our newest Great Grand-son. His name is Oliver Vaughn. He weighed in at 5 lbs., and had lots of dark hair and long legs and arms, (just like his dad). He is the most adorable little boy.

Every time I look at these two little bundles of love from our Heavenly Father, I am filled with so much love and joy. Have you ever have so much joy in your heart, that you thought your heart was going to burst and all the joy was going to run over out onto everyone around you? There is nothing more precious in the world than new babies sent to our presence from our Heavenly Father. And I am so lucky to have two of them in my life at this time. And I am so lucky that this young women are willing to share these precious bundles with Dave and I. They let us hold them and love them as much as we want. Here is a photo of me and my 2 new Great Grand-Babies. I've only felt this much love 3 other times in my life: 1.) when Mike was born and placed in my arms. 2.) when Ian was born and Mike placed him in my arms the first time. 3.) when Dave and I were married. And now this makes # 4.

Alaska Trip May 12 - 23, 2008

During May Dave and I took an early 5th anniversary cruise to Alaska. We flew from Salt Lake City to Vancouver, BC, then sail on Princess Cruise Lines. Our first port was Ketchikan. We had a light rain, (but we worn ponchos and didn't let it dampen our spirits). We ventured into town and stopped at a Smoked Salmon shop to ship home to Jared and Mike a sampling of the local smoked salmon delights - with a sampling also going to our house for us. Then on to our excursion for the day. We visited a natural wildlife sanctuary. Our guild was very good about the local plant life. We got up close an personal with a bald eagle and an owl. We also met his father, who was a totem pole carver, and we got photos. Then back into town for more souvenir shopping, and onto the ship for set sail for tomorrow's port - Juneau The Capital of Alaska.


We landed in Juneau and once again a light rain, but we wouldn't let this dampen our hopes for a good time. Our first excursion was to the Mendenhall Glacier. Here's a photo, it was very COOL to see an actual glacier up close. Then our next trip was to a genuine Summer Dog Sled Camp. OH BOY. We boarded a bus and arrived mid morning. Our guide, was a young man of 27, who has been running the Iditarod for the last 9 years. He introduced us to one of his team of 10 dogs. To us the dogs looks so small and underfed, but he explained that these dogs were very healthy athletes, and they eat a pound of dog food everyday. We were comparing them do our dogs at home, and our dogs are couch potatoes. We got to ride on a wheeled dog sled, (LOTS OF FUN), and explore the living camp where the trainer and the dogs were living and even hold a new dog sled puppy. Then back to town for MORE SOUVENIRS SHOPPING, EATING, and catching up with our new shipmate friends from Ohio, at the local tavern for a quick cold one to exchange stories, listen to the piano player's funny songs and stories and also make plans for dinner that evening.

Our third port was Skagway, and today was actually nice weather. No rain and a little warmer. We boarded a Yukon train for a trip through the White Pass on our way to Liarsville, (but found out we were passing through Canada and needed our passports again and Dave had to run at full speed back to the ship to get them, before the train left the station - he just barely made it back in time). Our train trip took about 2 hours, lots of wildlife to see and lots of great photos. Dave insisted on buying a souvenir ball cap, (and he never wears a baseball cap - but he's worn it several time since we've come home). We arrived in Liarsville and had a WONDERFUL salmon bake dinner with all the fixings. Dave with back for 2nds and 3rds. He even with up the talk to the chef about how he cooked the salmon over the grill. Then down to the Liarsville town to see how they lived during the gold rush, and find out how the town got it's name and see the performance. We also got a lesson in how to pan for gold and they let us try our hand at it, (we only got a couple of little flakes). He had a lot of fun, and got lots of photos. Once we got back into town, our tour bus stopped at the World Famous Red Onion Saloon, (we got to go in the backdoor and up the stairs for a tour of the brothel). We learned all about the famous brothel and saw the artifacts. Got lots of photos and met a young girl from Sandy, Utah who was working there as a tour guide. After our tour, Dave and I wondered through town doing MORE SOUVENIR SHOPPING, and as we were walking passed the Elks club, noticed that they were putting on a 2:00 pm play about "Skagway and Soapy Smith". So we bought tickets and went into the show. Very funny show and very good performers. We laughed alot. Well, after the show it was a walk down to the dock and time to get ready for a couple of days at sea.

We spend 2 days at sea as we sailed through Glacier Bay and then on to Sitka. Once in Sitak, we disembarked said our goodbyes and boards the glass rail train for Denali. The rail car trip took about 6 hours. Luckily our friends from the ship were also on the same train. We played cards, took photos, napped, ate lunch together, and made plans to have dinner together at the lodge that evening. We had dinner at the lodger - Salmon (I made it a point to have fish EVERY DAY of our vacation and sometimes twice a day - loved it, loved it, loved it). Then the four of us walked the grounds taking photos of the guys mostly doing childish things with the statues around the grounds. Oh yea, more shopping.

Oh, I forgot to mention, that each day we never really saw a sunset. The days were getting longer, and longer. And we were continually traveling Northerly, so it was always light out until about 10:45pm and then the sun would rise again at 5:00am. Sure did mess up my sleeping habits.

We got up early the next morning and grabbed breakfast, then boarded a bus for Denali National Park. Really pretty. And the guides are so good at stopping and letting up get up close for photos of the wildlife. Then we boarded a Jet Boat and went down the river to a miner's camp. We got great photos of a mama moose and her twin 2 day old babies next to the river. (here's a photo). We learned about from a trapper how he catches animals and earned his living, then he showed up how to pan for gold, (only got a couple of little flakes again). Then back on the jet boat and back to our bus and back to the lodge. We ventured our on our own across the highway to a small pack of shops, yea more shopping. We got some great stuff. We got a great movie about the aroa bora. Then we got dinner at a local salmon bake restaurant - Great food and really cheap. It was so much better than what we had at the lodge the night before and only about 1/4 the price. Then we hit the shops at the lodge and found several good buys. The weather up north here is so nice, in the mid 70s.

The next morning, it was time to get up and head out for Fairbanks our last city on the tour. This time by bus coach. But luckily the trip was only going to be about 4 hours. We stopped in a little town has lunch and Dave bought some blueberry fudge and cranberry fudge for our dessert on the rest of our bus ride. We walked around the town and visited with a couple of local people and sat in the town's center, (which was quite a gathering place). The weather was about 80 degrees and just wonderful. Back on the bus we both got a short nap, but my left leg had been bothering me on and off most of the day, and by the time we arrived in Fairbanks I couldn't believe how painful my leg was and my ankle was so swollen. I was starting to hobbled on my left leg so I wouldn't put too much pressure on it. Our first excursion in Fairbanks was a paddleboat ride. Nice and easy. We got seats on the 3rd deck and made ourselves comfortable. The photos are wonder, saw Susan Butcher's dog camp (1st woman to win the Iditarod). Stopped and visited a native Eskimo summer camp and saw live demos for carving wood, salmon fillets, reindeer, hunting, dog sleds, etc, etc. Saw a jet plane take off and landing demo on the river. Got lots of photos. At the end of the day, it was back on the bus and off to our lodge. By now I could barely walk. Once inside our room, I stripped off my jeans and packed my knee with ice and took a pain pill. I knew my evening was going to be spent in bed. I urged Dave to go ahead and take the Gold Mine tour, but he said he was pretty worn out also. So, he went down to the dinning room and got some dinner for us. Came back to the room, watched a little tv, (the first tv we had seen in over a week), and then did the best he could to block out the sun (at 10:30 pm), so we could both get some sleep.

The next day, my leg was still pretty swollen, do Dave called and cancelled our last day's excursion. Dave just spent the day resting, reading, watching tv, walking the grounds and taking photos, (I mostly slept from the pain pills). That evening we had to vacate the room and our bags were picked up for the airlines, so we had one last excursion to Alaska Salmon Bake. We boarded the bus and make the trip. Let me tell you, It was the BEST SALMON AND HALIBUT I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. Dave and I both LOVE IT. We tell everyone, it you ever get to Fairbanks go to this place. You will love it. We got back to the lodge about 1 hour before our shuttle for the airport. Then the shuttle picked us up at 10:30pm at the lodge, and drove us to the airport. As we were driving to the airport, I pointed out to Dave, "Look, I see a little bit a a sunset finally, and it's almost 11:00pm".

We got home Friday morning at 8:45am, and the weather here in Salt Lake was so much colder than Alaska, 65 degrees on May 23rd. We were tired, ready to pick up our two dogs, drop them off at the groomers, take our showers and drop into bed for a quick nap. Then back up around 1:00pm to pick up the dogs from the groomers, unpack our bags, and start sorting our gifts for all the grand kids, so we can take them over and deliver the gifts and get our hugs and kisses.

The Happy Couple

Hi, this is my first try at creating a blog. I'll start off with a picture from our wedding day.



I'll post more later.