day paddle out of whittier...

 some pictures turn out to be favorites of mine.  i really liked this one of my boots on the boardwalk trail...my feet are in the boots. we took a short walk to a pretty waterfall on a break from kayaking.  we thought we were going earlier in the day but as it turns out it all worked out for the best.  the day cleared out and was beautiful.

 first my brother and his family had to get geared up.  they have a lot of gear!!  they were nice there. it's one of the big old buildings in whittier that used to be military.

 darla and i jumped in the triple with elijah.  it was my first time in a double.  elijah paddled some and i think he had fun.  you never know with kids, but i think he did quite well for his first time out.  he requested a paddle so the lady at the shop let him use her daughters old one.

 the water was mostly flat, just some waves from boats passing by.  we had a few to deal with as we got on the water. i think the ferry may have passed by.

 elijah's paddle had happy faces to keep it up and in the right direction...they really should do that for adult paddles to.  hehe.

 tom and grayson got the double and our guide for the day, roger, was in a single.

 we were all layered up but it got hot pretty fast out there.

 nice to see glaciers all around as you paddle.

 today i took a relaxing walk in north bivuoac.  was headed off on the usual monday walk 4 mile loop. rio was moving pretty slow past the half way mark so i decided to double back and take a side loop back to cut off the distance for the poor girl.  the skies were clearing a bit, but all those roots are always tough on rio.

 lots of cool mushrooms out there.  i should have gotten the better camera out as many came out poorly.  we'll see what loop i take tomorrow.

 elijah out on the boat.  occasionally he'd make some moves around and the boat would wobble.  triples are pretty stable though.

 snack time on the beach.  our guide was very patient and sweet.  of course, darla and tom were wanting to hook me up.  no numbers were exchanged though.

 roger even gave darla some rock skipping lessons.  the beach had loads of nice flat rocks for this.

 just made my dinner, i'm stuffed.  i should have peeled the red potatoes though.  wasn't originally planning on mashing these reds, but then i did.  the peels were a bother to remove and i don't like peels.  i still managed to eat more than my share. had to finish off the roast gravy.  love homemade gravy...so good!!

 day 2 of relaxing.  after i've been with people for several days i do tend to cabin up for a few days.  i'm pretty much a loner by nature.  i like mixing with the other humans, especially family, but i gotta have my me time after.  guess they like calling that an introvert now.  seems to be the latest thing...really, i just like quiet and solitude and peace.  it was nice to just walk in the woods with the dogs and clear my head.

 dropped off gear i borrowed from gail and mack.  we hung and chatted for a bit.  so i did mix with live people today.  i wasn't a total loner all day.  that and i do mix with people on facebook.

 maybe i'll do some loops tomorrow and actually take out my macro lens for some mushroom shots.

 love the change of seasons...it's happening.

 looks like friends did the denali highway..didn't see any fall colours there yet.

 watched a few ted talks today.

 one speaker talked about going away to college and then starting to hear voices.  at first the voices just kind of announced what she was doing in the third person.  like, "she is going to class".  anyway, it worsened and she says she mentioned it to someone who freaked a bit and insisted she seek out medical help.  this started down a bit of a rough path.

 our treatment of mental health is not always the best it seems.  she did seem to recognize that the voices were probably related to stress and things that had happened as a child.

 eventually, she found the right people and came off of the meds and finished school.  it took awhile but she is a psychologist i think.  it was interesting.  always amazing what people can overcome in their lives.  my life has been pretty breezy comparatively.

 i'm okay with that.

 everyone but grayson climbed the waterfall.  elijah and tom went to the top.  he's quite the climber.  got some pictures up there.

 the "trail" was a bit more like a puddle in some places.

 always love a ring around the sun!

 may have to settle in and watch one of the movies sitting here at the house from netflix.

 getting ready to get back on the water.  i slipped over to pee on the beach, it wasn't my most private moment.  my butt wasn't seen but it was clear what i was up to.  i'm really not too shy on a beach.  when you have to go you gotta go.  the guide saw me and then kindly went to the same spot to pee as well.  that is being a gentlemen in nature.  haha.  like...i saw you pee, it looks like a good spot so i'll do the same.

 back on the water we crossed back over and went to check out the bird rookery

 nobody got pooped on though i did threaten elijah that i had some deal premade with the birds that if he didn't behave they would poop on him.  he didn't buy it.

 i think tom enjoyed his time on the water.

 shot over my head of the back of the boat

 birds...something out of a hitchcock movie, right?

 elijah enjoyed paddling...his strokes were not always effective, but they were enthusiastic at times.

 cadence was in short supply for the day.

 but being on the water is always relaxing.

 reflections...

 this one slipped in...this is actually from the cabin. my brother tom and his wife, darla.

 the end of the paddle.  nice to have others carry the boats...worth the money for sure!!

 we rushed to the tunnel, but then there was a train that got to go first.  trains have the right of way.  it's a shared tunnel.

 the tunnel is over 2 miles long.

 we were in the back of the line, but we did make the cut to get through.

guess i'll head off to watch a movie.  looks like rain again out there.