We were hoping to leave tomorrow to head south again. The wind's forecast to lay down and be from the north -- perfect to push us south. Unfortunately we didn't count on the freeze warning -- 31 degrees for the low tomorrow in SW Florida! Being the wimps we are, without heat aboard, we decided it might be a good idea to stay tied to the dock where we can plug in the electric blanket and snuggle.
What do we do when the weather pins us literally to the dock? Plan our next adventure, of course! Later this summer, we'll check Alaska off our bucket lists. It takes FOREVER to plan a trip when you're not interested in doing pre-packaged tours and want to travel on your own.
But the framework is in place, from spending a few days camping with friends in the Northern Cascades National Park (I know that's Washington, but that's where this adventure starts) ... then catching the Alaska Ferry through the inside passage for three days to Wrangell where we'll visit the Nat'l Forest Service's Anan Bear Observatory. Supposedly we'll be close enough to watching bears feast on the salmon running upstream that I'll be able to take my OWN photos like this!
Flying to Anchorage, boarding an Alaskan Train to Seward for time in the Kenai Fjords National Park including a glacier ice hike complete with ice crampons and ice picks (are we really ready for this?). And finally pick up an RV for a 10 day camping adventure as deep inside Denali National Park as they allow RV's (30 miles).
So we spent all our money, committed almost a month of our lives, and, most importantly, David will likely have to break his post-retirement rule of never going anywhere he can't wear his shorts! :)
We did manage to get in a walk and lunch with old friends to top off the day, but now the day is almost done. The wind whistles through the rigging, the boat rocks even at the dock and all is well.
But the framework is in place, from spending a few days camping with friends in the Northern Cascades National Park (I know that's Washington, but that's where this adventure starts) ... then catching the Alaska Ferry through the inside passage for three days to Wrangell where we'll visit the Nat'l Forest Service's Anan Bear Observatory. Supposedly we'll be close enough to watching bears feast on the salmon running upstream that I'll be able to take my OWN photos like this!
Flying to Anchorage, boarding an Alaskan Train to Seward for time in the Kenai Fjords National Park including a glacier ice hike complete with ice crampons and ice picks (are we really ready for this?). And finally pick up an RV for a 10 day camping adventure as deep inside Denali National Park as they allow RV's (30 miles).
So we spent all our money, committed almost a month of our lives, and, most importantly, David will likely have to break his post-retirement rule of never going anywhere he can't wear his shorts! :)
We did manage to get in a walk and lunch with old friends to top off the day, but now the day is almost done. The wind whistles through the rigging, the boat rocks even at the dock and all is well.
David also promised our neighbor on the dock that I'd climb his mast tomorrow to fix some stuff. OK, did he FORGET that we're not leaving the dock because the forecast is for FREEZING temperatures? Or maybe he wants me to freeze, hmmm... "what happened to Jan?" She froze to the mast while helping rescue a neighbor's bird balloon? Huh?