Juneau, Alaska

Next stop - Juneau, capital of Alaska. The municipality of Juneau is quite large - almost as big as Rhode Island and Delaware combined, but only has around 40,000 residents. Towns along the Alaska Panhandle are unique in that most are land locked - you can only get in and out by plane or boat.

Situated at sea level with steep mountains rising to 3,500 or 4,000 feet just outside the city, Juneau has a quaint, frontier feel. There are over 30 glaciers in the mountains above the city which feed numerous waterfalls adding to the beauty.

This is the Alaska State Capital building. Sara wasn't in the day we were there...

Native totems decorate the city's parks, streets and yards. Juneau is also home to the state's natural history museum.

Totems and much of the native artwork are storyboards depicting events from local folklore.

Skagway, Alaska

Our first stop on the Alaska Panhandle is the town of Skagway. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 862. However, the population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with the more than 900,000 visitors.

This building, built in 1899, was refaced with new driftwood a few years ago taking it back to its original glory.

Even though there are only a couple dozen streets in Skagway, you can take a leisurely guided tour through this historic borough.

Most of the buildings in the area are nearly 100 years old. Renovation includes the front and sides visible from the main street but the rear of the buildings reflect their pre-restoration state.

Some of the original buildings have been preserved and offer a glimpse of what it was like in the rough and tumble 1800's.

Glacier Bay, Alaska

Our second day took us into Glacier Bay, the premier glacier viewing area in southern Alaska with sixteen glaciers terminating in a single bay. This area was extensively explored and mapped by naturalist John Muir in 1879. His records provided a detailed starting point for the mapping of glacial retreat.

The scenery entering the bay is truly spectacular.

Only two large cruise ships are allowed in Glacier Bay at any one time so not all cruises will take you to this spectacular area.

Bald eagles are a common sight in Alaska and it is not uncommon to spot them on floating ice.

The Grand Pacific Glacier is the fastest documented retreating glacier in recorded history. Scientists are hoping to learn how glacier activity relates to climate changes from the retreat.

With the rapid retreat of this glacier, the calving of the ice is almost constant. Beautiful but a cause for consern.

Hubbard Glacier, Alaska

Our first day of cruising took us past Hubbard Glacier. It takes about 400 years for ice to traverse the length of the glacier, meaning that the ice at the foot of the glacier is about 400 years old. The glacier routinely calves off icebergs the size of a ten-story building. Where the glacier meets the shore, most of the ice is below the waterline, and newly calved icebergs can shoot up quite dramatically, so that ships must keep their distance from it as they ply their way up and down the coast.

Princess Cruise - 7 days Anchorage to Vancouver

Taking advanatage of another last-minute deal, Betty and I head off to Alaska. We flew to Anchorage and boarded the Saphire Princess in Whittier, Alaska for a seven day trip down the inland passage to Vancouver, Canada.

Hearst Castle - San Simeon, California

Off we head down the Pacific Coast Highway with the RV - are we crazy or what? We wanted to take the scenic route as we headed south to San Simeo and Hearst Castle. The drive was a little curvy at times but the views were spectacular.
Our friends Mike and Kathy joined us for this short excursion. Great friends make the trip even better.

This Mediterranean style estate was the retreat of William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper tycoon. Designed by architect Julia Morgan, this skimpy summer home is located on the 250,000 acre Hearst ranch, half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Much of the architecture is influenced by Renaissance and Baroque art.

Hearst Castle features 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, 127 acres of gardens, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a movie theatre, an airstrip, and the worlds largest private zoo. But then again it is just a second home. The Neptune Pool features an ancient Roman temple front (the real thing, not a copy...)

The views from the gardens are spectacular overlooking the 14 miles of coastline once owned by the Hearsts. The Hearst Corporation donated the property, including the extensive art and antique collection, to the state of California in 1957 and it has been maintained as a state historic park ever since. One condition of the donation was that the Hearst family could use the facility any time they wished. The family continues to use an older Victorian house on the estate as a retreat.

The main building towers were designed after a Spanish church. Hearst was an omnivorous buyer who did not so much buy art and antiques to furnish his new house as build the home to house his huge art collection.

A rare clear view if the bottom of the indoor pool. The water had been drained to allow renovation of the tile work.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Our last stop in Mexico was the beautiful "Los Cabos", located at the southern tip of Baja California.


Cabo is well known for its pristine beaches.


Lands End arch on the southern tip of Baja California. (El Arco de Cabo San Lucas)

Mazatlán, Mexico

Day four found us at Mazatlán. In the 70's, tourism in Old Mazatlán declined as other, newer venues opened on the expanses of beach to the north of the city. The Centro Histórico has been rediscovered, spurring a renaissance of restoration and entrepreneurial endeavors.

Either recently restored or remakably well preserved, this 19th century cathedral in the historic district is a supurb example of period architecture.

Local merchants sell shellfish in open-air markets in the older part of town. -- She sells shellfish near the seashore. :)

Cliff divers soar past rocky cliffs on their way to the small, deep pools or open ocean below.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Our first stop was Puerto Vallarta where we were greeted with this beautiful site. This trip was all about rest, relaxation and walking along the beach. Tough itinerary!

In case you've never been on a Mexican cruise, this is what it looks like at every port when you get off the ship. Lots of locals will be happy to take your money in exchange for "authentic" Mexican souveniers.

If you wander into the local market area, you can also find local artists making their crafts.

Talented locals make these sculptures on the beach hoping to get a donation. With tourism down, many strugle to be able to support themselves.

Carnival Mexican Riveria Cruise

Great travel deals abound during this less-than-perfect economy, so we took advantage of a great special to spend a week with my brother and his wife aboard the Princess Pride. We left from Los Angeles on a beautiful, sunny typical southern California day and sailed southward to Mexico.

This was our ship, a small vessle that only holds a couple thousand passengers. We had beautiful balcany rooms with great views.

Warming up for a hot game of Pinochle while waiting for the ship to leave port.

Activities on-board while cruising down the Mexican coast included demonstrations of ice carving.