HEAVILIN HERALD

 

 

I hope it looks like we are having fun, because we are! We had these studio pictures taken while we were on the Alaska Cruise. We definitely cast our vote for RETIREMENT! The cruise to Alaska was very exciting for us. I suppose mainly because we were seeing new territory and we were having new experiences. The ship was luxurious and of course offered more food than one person could possibly handle in a week. Since we were not traveling with a group, I think we were more inclined to participate in more of the ship’s activities than we might have had we been with a group. Our room had a beautiful patio that looked out over the back of the ship. So we had ample opportunity to see where we had been.
We had never been in Alaska before. We can now say we have visited all fifty states.

 We had not see a glacier before.  As our ship cruised by the Hubbard Glacier, we witnessed huge pieces of ice crashing into the ocean. The most amazing part was the thunderous sound that accompanied the splash.
As we ate dinner in one of the dining rooms we were able to watch humpback whales in the ocean. They made quite a splash themselves.

We visited the Raptor Center where injured birds are cared for. We understand that often Eagles are visible just sitting in the trees, but the only eagles we saw were residents of the Center.

Our ship pulled in toward the dock at Seattle and I sensed we were not quite in the right place. The Captain announced that our docking would be delayed because some Indian fishermen had stretched their fishing nets across the area where we were supposed to dock and it is a Federal offense to touch an Indian fishing net! So for the next two hours our ship and a Princess Cruise ship sat and waited. Finally two men in a tiny little row boat came to move their nets. These two men had managed to detain about 4000 people for more than two hours! Now that’s power!  

 

When we returned to Whiting, we spent a day in New York City.

 

We had the joy of meeting our dear friend Jennifer who works for the Times Square Alliance. Jennifer gave us a little card that worked magic at the Empire State Building.

All we had to do was show that little card and we were magically escorted to the front of every line.
That evening we had the privilege of attending a performance of The Lion King. The costuming and special effects were beyond description.
We are now getting ready to leave Keswick for this year. It gets harder to leave every year. We plan to visit friends in the Philadelphia and Lancaster areas. Then we hope to visit Washington DC once again. After that....who knows. We just keep reminding ourselves that Home is Where We Park It!