sun is starting to shine....

 will toss in a blog post and then head somewhere.  still debating a run to Seward, but i may just do something local instead.  feeling lazy this week.  getting stuff done but still feeling lazy

 i think i do tend to be mildly antisocial after I've been around people.  not that i hate people just that after being around them i need down time.  the introvert life.

 a few views of life on the boat mixed in here.  some of the iphone pictures are from my nieces phone so a blend.  can't take credit for all.  the guides took pictures or us as well.  easiest to hand people an iphone, most people can figure out how to take a picture with those.

 headed to bed early again last night.  chilled then fell asleep.  woke in the wee hours for a bit.  my fit bit gives me away.  had to get a new one as my old one finally gave it up. i think i had it for nearly 3 years so not bad. i also hit costco yesterday and purchased a new tv so i can stop hitting mine. 

 I'll have to get some earthquake straps for it before i actually set it up though.  the stand doesn't seem to stable and the sales person there said that she had the same stand and her tv crashed in the quake.  she did say that costco replaced tv's whereas she'd bought hers at Walmart and they wouldn't exchange any earthquake damaged tv's.

 the first morning in Houston we headed out to walk to a local cafe named, Betsy's.  a must for a girl named Betsy, right?  good food and a nice day to be outside.

 spend some of my day yesterday in a light exchange with an old school jock.  when it gets too tight for him, he pulls out his "I'm a liberatarian" card. this means he can say that he never votes for any Dem or Rep so he's completely above reproach.  he seems to feel this makes him superior.  he clearly is as orange as they come but just backs away from the iitoo when it suits him.  I'm actually Independent, but i clearly lean left. never keen on voting straight party of any party really...though the GOP is making it tough to vote for any of them considering how nuts they are becoming.

 the iitoo is back to the healthcare distraction...makes one wonder what they don't want us all to see in the Mueller report.  the spin is running deep at the moment.  clearly Barr's mandate was to make it all sound like a glowing report so that when the actual report comes out, everyone is so bored of it and will have moved onto the next disaster...with this administration there is always another disaster awaiting.  remove health care from all through their newly loaded courts.  Devos continues her attack on the education system.  this week kids with disabilities are under attack...gotta love the GOP...they care about kids....NOT.  if you are blind...screw you!  if you have a disability...screw you! if you participate in Special Olympics...screw you! 

 CB took these.

 sunset is back to me.  thought her shots turned out great!

 another armadillo shot. 

 grand niece at the outdoor pool.

 this is the muster station deck....the place you would come in the event of an emergency.  we never had one. 

 at the Betsy's cafe.

 the top floor jogging/walking deck.  i took advantage of it several times as i had over 20 years ago. they have cut the length in order to accommodate the climbing wall.

 got a few yoga poses out of my niece and her daughter....always fun shots i think.

 the battle is on to save the Alaska Marine Highway system.  our current trumpy governor is out to slash out states budget, while, of course, keeping all protections and tax breaks in for big oil, mining.  it's a sad place our state and our nation finds itself in.  protect the rich, protect oil, screw the general public.  not sure how so many seem to justify these acts to themselves and look the other way as our nation is torn limb to limb to protect the wealthy.

 did contact my handyman about changing out light fixtures...he says he's good with doing it after he returns from vacation.  i also need to get some tree removal quotes.

 won't take much wind to take out that tree and thus the shed.

 my friend helped get a powerpoint ready for me for our REI meeting.  looks like 18 spots left so quite a few have already signed up.  it will be a bit later than usual.  we were thinking of bringing a lap top and having the explore site up to encourage people to visit it often to encourage explore to continue to help out our little island and the walrus

 sounds like several of the turnagin trails are mostly clear of snow already. I'm a bit hesitant to hit those this spring though post earthquake. i just think there will be a lot of loose rocks/soil.  could be some slides.  seems a bit too risky. i tend to err on the side of caution.

 look at that beautiful clear water.  so pretty.

 i opted out of snorkeling but was all in for the dolphins. 

 I'm cool with armadillo's too.  haha.

 St Patty's, my niece shows off her green drink.

 my last day in Texas. it was pretty.  i just chilled in my nieces back yard and read. this was all under water not too long ago after Harvey hit.  they evacuated in waist deep water.

 more sunsets...

 my niece and i at the Dzibanche ruins. 

 happy times with the sea lion.

 doesn't sound like DVL is causing too much trouble for the island.  he took away funding already so i suppose there isn't much else he can do...but don't hold me to that.  Dunleavy seems to be able to find ways to damage the environment. 

 long whiskers on our sea lion.  not too itchy though. most of these would be much shorter in the wild.  same for walrus in captivity. 

 view from the 11th floor bar of the pool below on the 9th floor. 

 they showed various video's and movies on the big screen in front of the pool. 

 a few at the Houston Rodeo.  we got there late but still had fun.  we left a bit early since the performer they had was not one either of us turned out liking. 

 a few weeks back  guys cross country skied pretty much all 90+ miles of free style ski trails in Anchorage...in 12.5 hours.  not bad.

 they said they wouldn't take any family shots so i was happy that a few of these did come out.  i played with them on my phone, made some black and white. 

 the stadium for the rodeo was so huge they can do fireworks inside

 i guess i really should get motivated and get to the walk today. the puppies are patiently waiting.  as long as I'm upstairs they leave me be. as soon as i go downstairs, no matter what time of day or night Ivy gets the tennis ball and expectations rise. we had an influx of tennis balls last night as my neighbor must have went into their yard and tossed the winter balls back.  i don't expect to see any from the back fence or the neighbor on the other side....some tennis balls are lost every winter...it's just how it goes.

 a few more fun ones of me with the marine mammals.  so happy.

 this is the indoor adult pool area.

 more fireworks

 and a final shot of the sea lion who cuddled us.  :-) i better get moving...enjoy your day.

thankful for A.  an experience with these marine mammals that i will never forget B.  that we paid the extra for the pictures, they are really fun  C.  walking on crisp sunny days.

still odd sleep hours...that is just night shift though

 we had a few fun towel animals over our week out there.  we came and went to the room pretty regular so i think we always through off poor Melvin's schedule for cleaning our room.

 next week will be our final official Monday walk of the season as we get ready for summer and all that entails.  everyone just runs off in different directions.  we still get together to walk but easier to just plan day to day

 speedy will head off to prep for the Boston Marathon!!  all the best!! very proud of her.  so much work.  she just did 22 mile run the other day in just over 3 hours!!  very impressed.  she will always be safe walking with me because i am a horrible runner...rather than try to outrun speedy I'm afraid my best option is to lay down, play dead and hope the bear isn't too hungry.

 it looks a bit like we are performing the laying on of hands on this sea lion!

 the GOP are all enjoying some time gloating about their current win.  pride cometh before a fall, right?  he just keeps repeating, no obstruction, even though the report can't exonerate him on that.  i believe Barr bypassed what was supposed to happen in his zeal to protect his beloved.  it needs to go to Congress for them to deal with it.  our nation should not be run by someone who can't be exonerated for obstruction.  the GOP has set an extremely low bar for their leadership at this point. 

 there are many investigations still in progress.  many of his closest allies have been charged with lying...why are they all lying so much?  if it's all a nothing burger as his allies like to say, then why all the lying?  why all the obstruction?  why does McConnell block votes on things like allowing the Mueller report to come out.  it will eventually...if it's what they seem to wish us to believe, nothing, then why would they not want to rub it in the faces of those who thought ill of this iitoo?  it makes no sense.

 this is at the Dzibanche ruins. i can't begin to attempt to say that.

 I've been checking the bear tree a bit and haven't seen any sign of a bear yet.  with how warm it is, the bear may just wake up and go. they tend to linger when there are babies in there.  some years i don't see a bear though.

 there are sure to be sightings soon though.  will head out for a walk soon.  not sure where yet. tides are good.  may do a day trip to Seward tomorrow.

 also need to call and see about getting a tree removed that is leaning into my shed.  always things to fix when you own a place, which is a drag, but i do love having my place, especially with dogs.  i always had to settle for crap places that would allow dogs in the past.

 the dolphin crew above.

 I'm wearing a shirt because i got a little burn.  mostly on my chest and around my arm pits...tender on these days and i figured I'd better prevent further burning. it's already peeled so now i start my AK summer with a slight tan. 

 just spoke to Ed from fish and game.  it looks good for funding right now.  still getting the team selected.  of course, travel to/from the island is always sketchy since we really only have the one guy to depend on and he can be moody and flaky. not too many of signed up for visits.  it would be much easier to encourage folks to head out there if they had a more stable transporter again. 

 I'm working with speedy on getting a powerpoint together in case i end up doing the talk at REI.  Ed will speak with Polly, who used to go out to the island and may do some more break runs again this year.

 a drunk driver ran into two kids biking.  not sure how bad their injuries are.  i read that the drunk driver is a nurse who works at Providence.  nice.  stuff like that has repercussion's on your license. so many can hide their addictions pretty well day to day.  pretty sad for all involved, but mostly for these kids and their families. 

Rosenstien had said he wouldn't leave the department until the report was settled....he announced he's leaving soon like a month ago so i guess no surprise that this is complete.  will he and Mueller stay quiet about it all, will they write books?  not sure yet.  there is a lot to tell.  was Mueller happy with the Barr summary of his report or will there be some push back.  i suspect, like Preet says, Mueller probably intended to leave the obstruction up to congress..they are the ones with oversight power.  nothing is sure in this nation anymore.  norms are no longer norms.  there is a power grab and those in power believe that since they are 100% right on everything they believe that the Dems should not be allowed to have any power.  it's dangerous times really. no one party has all the answers. no one party can be 100% correct.  it's clear though.  the GOP believe the Dems are inept in every aspect of government and they alone should run this nation.  that may look good in the short term but in the long term it's a disaster.

 fun to play with a few of these dolphin pictures on my phone.  we couldn't take the pictures but we could totally tweek them. :-)

 the Ketchikan high school basketball team surprised all and took state i guess this weekend!!  go Kings!!

 Pete Kaiser, 31 of Bethel, won the Iditarod by the way.  congrats!!

 slowly working through some old papers. i kept them coming while i was away..hoping to read up on the Iditarod coverage i missed being away and working before i left.

 beautiful blue waters of Honduras.  they went snorkeling.  we all went kayaking.  a short paddle, but enough for the kids i think.

 we had some beautiful sunsets on the ship.

 our package in Honduras allowed us time to chill on their little private beach.  this resort was gated with armed guards.  we also noted a few armed guards at gas stations as we were driven to the resort. at least one i saw was carrying an assault rifle. shows a little of the local situation i guess.

 these swings were a big success with the kids...the adults liked them too. 

 the psychiatric situation in our state just keeps getting worse.  the last three psychiatrists at the big state facility are quitting. 

 a guy who has been living in Maine for years is being charged in a '93 sexual assault and murder case.  DNA coming to get ya.

 we dressed up a little for dinners in the main dining hall..some got super dressed up.  there were also fun suits one night and while on board many went all out for St Patty's day.  we didn't get the memo on the dress up plans on board.  the cruise ship folks can be very fun though, it's pretty clear.

 "igivearod"...just reading about this. fans of a rookie musher raised over $100,000 for rural schools during the Iditarod.  the musher is from Wisconsin.  she is a twitter poster and a writer i guess.  she did finish the race but since her twitter feed was silent during the race her followers came up with a plan to help, first a rural school along the trail and then they looked up other rural schools looking for help.  they call themselves the #uglydogs on twitter i guess. mostly they just love dogs and pictures of dogs.  the rookie is Blair Braverman and she finished 36th.

 that made me think to write Ed and see if there is some small thing we could start with to raise money for that they could use out on Round Island...start small and see how we do with fund raising for a specific item. 

 this one below is at the second ruins we went to Kohunlich...can't pronounce that one either.

 this view is from the back of the boat as i await my first massage. 

 i got two massages while on board, our first full day and on our last full day.  CB got one in the middle.  love it.  the therapist was from Thailand and we chatted quite a bit...she said most of her clients don't talk so i think she was excited for conversation. she was also excited that CB will head to Thailand in a few weeks. 

 Petit seems to always have some obstacle that prevents him from crossing the finish line first.  this year he was ahead on the sea ice when a dog fight broke out on his team.  it put him behind and allowed others to pass him. the Bering Sea coast has cost him twice now.  last year he just got lost.

 i have noticed some dry wall cracks...earthquake/aftershock related no doubt. they are just on watch right now.

 it's time to put the sleds and winter gear away for the season.  there appears to be a squirrel that has taken up residence in or near my shed...will have to check into that more

 getting some dolphin love

 and a ride.  they push your foot

 her face cracked me up here. 

 another shot of me with the armadillo.  below my great niece and i show off our various arm bands for the dolphin/sea lion/manatee day of play.

thankful for A.  blue skies and sunny weather  B.  a long view of life C.  walking with my pups again...they were missed!!