we all had temporary tatoo's...this is mine. i do love the frogs!! my tan from the trip is faded and so even the frog imprint leftover from the tan is fast disappearing.
"i don't like the kelp"...was a common phrase. we did like the kelp, but it can be tough to maneuver the kayak in. pull the rudder up, lesson one. if whales were out we would get to the kelp bed and bang on the kayaks to let them know we were there. apparently, the whales avoid the kelp beds for the most part. we referred to it as soup, peanut butter. we made up songs about kelp and a variety of other topics. singing is always fun while you paddle. sandra and i seem to have an inate ability to write music on the fly to various familiar tunes. we laughed at our goofiness, i think the others were laughing with us...or was that at us? one never really knows. they were laughing though so that is all that mattered!
we spent the night in idaho inlet and then woke, packed and headed to mud bay. of course, these are somewhat backwards, as always. we were still enjoying relatively decent weather. we also had very few bugs on george island or in idaho inlet. mud bay would be the begining of the bugs.
saw several great blue herons...or the same ones over and over again.
and there was always the kelp! we saw several otters and seals in the kelp as well so you gotta love the kelp.
later, back in gustavus we all ate kelp salsa! i gotta say, it was pretty tasty!!
and of course, there were always these random whale sightings. no killers, just humpbacks.
real time i was again totally lazy. lucky for me, tanya was just as lazy. she was lazy first. it was pretty wet in anchorage and neither of us relished a drive all the way to hatchers pass. such a wimpy fair weather hiker i have been this summer. not to beat myself up but really...i lived in ketchikan for years and hiked every day there, rain or shine. i really need to woman up and get out for some long hikes rain or shine. sharon carried on without us and only got a few sprinkles i think. i know blossom was disappointed in the bog walk again. she is over the bog this week. rio, was perfectly happy though. hard getting an older dog, you tend to feel guilty leaving her behind, especially a dog like rio. she's just so dang sweet.
no bear sightings in the bog...or moose for that matter.
a blue heron sighting above though. i know one of these heron pictures i snapped the shot just as the bird was taking a big ol dump. lucky for me, this happened over the shore and not over our kayaks. sandra would have rolled us for sure if she'd gotten great blue heron crap all over her. i'm currently having a glass of wine. meritage by robert mondavi. quite tasty. in my early years of learning about alcohol we created a drink called "the cloaca". we were all vets and vet techs. there is a tie in to the above bird. birds poop/piss and drop eggs all from the same hole, it's called the cloaca. our drink, therefore, was a mixture of whatever remnants of drinks were left in the jacuzzi blended together. we were all too lazy to get out of the jacuzzi and get new drinks. can't say as i've had a cloaca for quite a number of years. i actually rarely drink, but this week i did open the bottle so will have a glass of wine each night to finish it off. one glass is sufficient to get me a bit drunk. didn't have my first drink until i was 21. not many can say that!
one of those adorable tiny deers. saw the tracks and then caught a glimpse of this guy on a beach from our kayaks. hard to tell how tiny they are, but that grass is less than 3-4 feet high.
more blue heron action. i have always loved the heron. very beautiful birds.
chocolate covered macademia nuts are awesome! great with wine. it's not like i was totally lazy today actually. the closet people come tomorrow so i can't really move alot back in to the rooms til those are outfitted. i did spend some time organizing the new file cabinet that i put together. i have letter sized pendeflex folders, but this file cabinet really works better with legal size ones so i have now changed it all over to legal size. this allowed me to re-organize/purge some crap. i still have a bunch of medical type files that i will probably mostly just toss out. you get info online now so all that paper is pretty silly. still, every house seems to have more than it's share of paper bits so best to just get it all organized. 
bob and tanya out on the water. 
another deer picture. sitka, black tailed deer. so cute and tiny!! 
sandra directs another photo op.
we mostly stayed pretty close together or racked up at regular intervals. we aren't crazy kashi paddlers. we tend to like to explore a bit.
sometimes you just get caught in the kelp though.
those closet people show up at 0800....not looking forward to that crap. i'm not a morning person.
got a few packages mailed today. as i was at the counter i felt something ram into me. turns out it was a partially eaten apple. suddenly, i had a small child rifling around my legs trying to retrieve said apple, and a mother trying to convince this child not to continue eating this apple. it had rolled across the room to me. when i am in post offices or supermarkets it seems that i feel most relieved to have not had children. it's not that i never wanted kids or that i desperately wanted kids either. it just never happened. i was careful and i never found that guy who i thought i should marry and have babies with. those moms though look exhausted and miserable...it always makes me feel like i dodged the bullet or something. any moments of regret that have sunk in are immediately relieved.
years ago i figured out the whole, "he's just not that into you thing". though i didn't say that phrase. in my paper meanderings tonight i discovered a little essay i wrote in my mid twenties. basically, it was discussing how females and myself included often made all these excuses for why a guy wasn't doing stuff that a guy who really liked you should be doing. the bottom line for me was, if a guy wasn't doing stuff and you were making excuses for him, he just really didn't like you like he should and you should walk away. mine was way too wordy...i like, he's just not that into you. i was so wise in my 20's!! i quite enjoyed re-reading my essay and still agree with all my conclusions.
probably why i never settled down with anyone. i never was one to settle. you screwed up, i was gone, you chased me i ran, you chased more, i ran faster. perhaps i could have been more flexible, but i really don't think spending the rest of your life with someone is something you should compromise on. i've seen plenty of people compromise though. they are the miserable ones later on. 
takes alot of people to move a full kayak. we had fiberglass boats so one must be extra careful with those, especially on such rocky beaches. i tend to rent plastic boats which are much more durable. i'd go with plastic in alaska. most beaches look just like this one.
these are the morning packing routine pictures. all collects on beach, then by the kayaks, then load the kayaks and then get them in the water and take off. can be a fast or slow process. tends to get quicker the more times you do it. 
our food and cooking area were always kept in a location fairly far from where we slept. bear prevention. wasn't too worried about bears in such a large group. the many snorers had to help too. i'd be more nervous if i opted to go out camping alone or with just one person. 
we got ourselves a campfire that second night. it is funny how when you have guides you feel a bit like you have to ask permission. we didn't have a fire that first night and we were all determined to have one the next night. night two we took initiative. not sure what story erica is telling us above, but stories are one of the reasons we love campfires. gotta say the guides didn't bring anything to make s'mores....that is just wrong! :-) 
we bedded down that night in a soft rain forest. minus the rain of course.
we were all happy to have that campfire to chat and laugh around. above is tanya, val and sandra, below erica and alex. most of the time i find that enthusiasum is the best trait in a trip participant. people who are excited to go on the trip will always have a great time. i learned long ago not to try and convince people to go. i think that is one of the reasons we always have a good mix of people. everyone is excited and wants to be there. 
not sure what that smirk is about. bob tends to his wine.
watched several episodes of "project runway". hadn't watched the originals, but it is a kinda fun show. can't say as i'm a fashion diva, but i do enjoy watching project runway or americas next top model from time to time. at work i'm forever doing my runway walk. it is good exercise, entertaining and wakes you up. i've gotten pretty good if i do say so myself!! i'm ready just in case they have americas next top model...over 40 version!! i think i may have runway walked a bit out there on these beaches.
below scott works on getting the fire started..above our guide adam is successful. he'd told the guys about finding pitch on the trees and using that as a fire starter. he impressed my friends with his pitch use. i think bob was the one who found the pitch. i think pitch is basically sap that collects on the trees. according to websters it's a resin found in certain evergreen trees. stuff worked. good to know if you are ever in an emergency and need to start a fire.
we were all so excited about our fire that night that this rather artistic fire ring was created.
not the spectacular sunset of the night before but we loved the rays of light streaming through the dark clouds.
bob was the hero and found us the water source. adam asked for a volunteer to help him paddle to find water, i figured scott would be excited to get back in that boat, but he was beat. luckily, bob found us water and wood and pitch. he's good to have along!!
skipped blogging last night and instead watched my netflix movie for the week. "whip it" with ellen page and drew barrymore. drew barrymore also directed it apparently. her first. ellen page has been good in a few roles and crappy in others. don't think she has a wide range of ability when it comes to characters she can play. this wasn't a bad movie. pretty basic and therefore entertaining enough. rollarderby, action, romance, teenage angst. my life isn't more complete for having seen it, there were no dramatic social issues uncovered, but sometimes i'm happy just being entertained and not having to think too hard. 
we weren't alone out there, we ran across bear scat from time to time. i try not to get too bent over it. your average bear avoids humans. the rougue bear will attack and kill and i doubt that much will stop that. have heard of several who got lucky with a gunshot or spray, doubt i could be that quick. guess i tend to feel like i do about kayaks. if it flips over i may not be able to survive. i still go though. the chances are it won't flip, just like the chances are i won't run into that random rougue bear that kills. lets hope neither happens.
that is bear scat in case you missed it.
liked this one of scott walking down the beach. i know he was in heaven, just being out there.
made some cookie dough last night. i was almost out of shortening so only did a regular sized batch. put all the dough in the fridge just like my mom often did. she found us kids were just as happy eating the dough as the cookies so why bother. i know my dad preferred the cookies though so that never went over really well.
the trees were so pretty!
lots of natural hooks for our clothes.
trimmed blossom around the face today. she really doesn't like it and i do a crappy job of it, but it's always great to be able to see her eyes again. she's pretty fluffy.
an iranian woman was blinded when a man asked her hand in marriage and she turned him down. he then through acid on her face. the iranian court systems answer to this is to have acid thrown in his eyes. she apparently pardoned him of this before the doctor could squirt the acid in his eyes. so strange that doctors in iran would be made to do this punishment. our doctors here take an oath of "do no harm". i would think that would so totally go against what they do as doctors. 
so this was our sunset on night two.
above is a parasitic orchid. tiny and pretty. hard to think of something so beautiful being parasitic, but in the lives of humans i find that often beauty can be parasitic. 
apparently, california ( a state with no money) spent money rescueing a dog who became sore and exhausted while out hiking. the couple called for help. you'd think a couple could find a way to carry an 80 # dog out and not put this expense on the tax payers. more importantly, it's best to think of your dog before you take them out for the hike. not all hikes are good for dogs. often it's just too dang hot and there are too few water sources. people aren't too smart. guess the dog shouldn't suffer for thier stupidity, but who is paying for that i wonder? 
again..i must be off to bed. long day tomorrow. the cats will have to be cooped up for several hours. i'll have to awaken early and then sit around. when the day is through though hopefully, i can start getting these rooms totally back together. that will be nice.
the kitten is loving these floors. great for playing with her little toys.
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