Spring/Summer Plans?

[Catmando]

Off to Family Camp again this year, for a week. Leaving tomorrow morning! We're very excited!

See you guys in a week! I'll think of you guys when I'm listening to some of my classical CD's.

[Trumpetmaster]

Well...
I recently turned 50.... (where have the years gone?)

Anyway, my wife surprised me with an Alaskan Cruise in August.
The cruise goes north from Vancouver and ends up in Whittier.

We will have a cabin on the starboard side of the ship with the larger balcony.

I can hardly wait....



So far from what I've read about the excursions, I will be staying away
from the Helicopter ride to the glacier...

Also, heard Skagway is a tourist trap and I should try and get to Haines.

Anyone have any suggestions...

I feel like my mind is no longer here at work and I'm already on the ship!
What a great b-day present!!!

[barfle]

TM, congratulations!

I've been on an Alaskan cruise, and I can say the helicopter ride to the glacier is an absolute gas, as is Skagway.

The only complaint I had about our trip was that the ship was so large that we didn't get a chance to explore it adequately.

I've been to Sitka a couple of times since, to go fishing (I don't know if you remember when we had profile pictures, but a couple of them were me with fish that were close to my own weight). If you think eagles are special, there's a "raptor center" in Sitka that is worth the short hike (everything in Sitka is a short hike). The totem poles and the Russian Bishop's house, administered by the National Park Service are a good way to spend an afternoon, and the Orthodox Church is pretty nifty as well.

Are there any inland portions of the trip?

[Trumpetmaster]

TM, congratulations!

I've been on an Alaskan cruise, and I can say the helicopter ride to the glacier is an absolute gas, as is Skagway. I do not like heights too much so I will probably leave that excursion alone. Sounds like the view was fabulous!
The only complaint I had about our trip was that the ship was so large that we didn't get a chance to explore it adequately.

I've been to Sitka a couple of times since, to go fishing (I don't know if you remember when we had profile pictures, but a couple of them were me with fish that were close to my own weight).
Yes I remember your profile picture! I am truly looking forward to this trip. It has been years since I took 2 full weeks off from work.
If you think eagles are special, there's a "raptor center" in Sitka that is worth the short hike (everything in Sitka is a short hike). The totem poles and the Russian Bishop's house, administered by the National Park Service are a good way to spend an afternoon, and the Orthodox Church is pretty nifty as well.

I was reading about the Raptor Center this past Sunday. We will be stopping there. Love Eagles!

Are there any inland portions of the trip?

[b]No inland portions... Sail up the coast... just about a city each day[/b]

[Shapley]

T/M

Congratulations! I didn't realize we were so close to the same age.

Never been to Alaska. Let us know how the trip turns out. Post photos!

V/R
Shapley

[Trumpetmaster]

T/M

Congratulations! I didn't realize we were so close to the same age.

Never been to Alaska. Let us know how the trip turns out. Post photos!

V/R
Shapley

Shapley,
Thanks... Been joking with some friends of mine that I am now AARP eligible


I got a digital camera last year....I have to figure out how I can post photos as I don't have my own website... I bought a 2Gig storage card a few weeks ago... it can take about 1850 pictures...

I will let you all know how the trip goes and post pictures eventually...

Regards,
TM

[treebeau]

I was really expecting you to say...

Well...
I recently turned 50.... (where have the years gone?)

Anyway, my wife surprised me with an Alaskan Cruise in August.
The cruise goes north from Vancouver and ends up in Whittier.

I can hardly wait.... [TILL SHE GETS BACK]

What a great b-day present!!!

Course, I say that because I, personally, get seasick in the bathtub playing with a toy boat. But HAVE A GOOD TIME !

Regards,
Tim B.

P.S. I'm 47 today. No birthday presents.

[Trumpetmaster]

I was really expecting you to say...

Well...
I recently turned 50.... (where have the years gone?)

Anyway, my wife surprised me with an Alaskan Cruise in August.
The cruise goes north from Vancouver and ends up in Whittier.

I can hardly wait.... [TILL SHE GETS BACK]

What a great b-day present!!!

Course, I say that because I, personally, get seasick in the bathtub playing with a toy boat. But HAVE A GOOD TIME !

Regards,
Tim B.

P.S. I'm 47 today. No birthday presents.

Thanks & Happy B-Day!

[Shapley]

Tim,

Happy Birthday!


T/M

I got a digital camera last year....I have to figure out how I can post photos as I don't have my own website... I bought a 2Gig storage card a few weeks ago... it can take about 1850 pictures...

Get a photobucket account. They're free, and easy to use. I use them, and I notice that Tanja is using them now for her posts in the Expresso Kampuchea Thread. just go to http://www.photobucket.com and follow the instructions.

V/R
Shapley

[Trumpetmaster]

Shapley,
thanks... I just registered with Photobucket...
I will test this as soon as I can.. Have to go to a meeting... ugh...

Regards,
TM

[Marye]

Congratulations TM! I turned 50 earlier this year (my trip to Prague, Vienna and Budapest was my gift)

Happy Birthday Tim! I hope you celebrate well.

My partner Brian and I are sailing for the month of August. We plan to cruise down to the Thousand Islands - that's Lake Ontario, Gannoque, Kingston... lovely lovely area. A month away from work and Toronto will be heaven to me.

[barfle]

I didn't realize we were so close to the same age.

I've got a decade on the two of you. Fortunately for me, sixty is the new twenty-nine.

[Shapley]

Fortunately for me, sixty is the new twenty-nine.

That means I'm only nineteen??? I can feel my acne coming back already!

[BigJon@Work]

Hpy b-day TM!

[BigJon@Work]

We are going to take an epic road trip in August. Since I started my business, we haven’t had a proper family vacation. Traveling from SE PA to NE Ohio to visit friends. Then on to Indiana to visit my sister and her family. From there we travel to Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin to take in the combined Champ Car and ALMS sports car race weekend. If you’ve never been to Road America, it is quite possibly the finest permanent road racing facility in the world. The track, the amenities, the setting, all excellent. Then to have the two best road racing series in the world converge on the site in one weekend, race fan Nirvana! From there on to N. and S. Dakota to visit my wife’s aunt and uncle, the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore.

It should be a pretty insane trip in a station wagon with a 9, 7 and 2 year-old. I’m seriously considering purchasing something bigger just so we don’t have to hear all the whining about being crowed together in the back seat.

[Trumpetmaster]

Thank you Marye & BigJon!!!!

[Shapley]

It should be a pretty insane trip in a station wagon with a 9, 7 and 2 year-old. I’m seriously considering purchasing something bigger just so we don’t have to hear all the whining about being crowed together in the back seat.

We rented a van when we drove to Massachusetts and Connecticut a couple years ago, and even then we found it crowded with the four of us. Of course, my stepson's wheelchair and other necessities take up a bit of room, but it's still a bit of a drag. We've considered renting one of those mini-motorhomes (the oversize van types) for a future road trip, but haven't done so, yet. Unfortunately, there are some parts of the Black Hills scenic drives that are inaccessible even to them, as there are tunnels that are only wide enough for standard vehicles (at least that was the case when I was there 20+ years ago). Some of those tunnels were carved in the era of the Model T.

Have a good trip!

V/R
Shapley

[Trumpetmaster]

We are going to take an epic road trip in August. Since I started my business, we haven’t had a proper family vacation. Traveling from SE PA to NE Ohio to visit friends. Then on to Indiana to visit my sister and her family. From there we travel to Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin to take in the combined Champ Car and ALMS sports car race weekend. If you’ve never been to Road America, it is quite possibly the finest permanent road racing facility in the world. The track, the amenities, the setting, all excellent. Then to have the two best road racing series in the world converge on the site in one weekend, race fan Nirvana! From there on to N. and S. Dakota to visit my wife’s aunt and uncle, the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore.

It should be a pretty insane trip in a station wagon with a 9, 7 and 2 year-old. I’m seriously considering purchasing something bigger just so we don’t have to hear all the whining about being crowed together in the back seat.

Have a GREAT TRIP!!!!

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Igor the Behemoth (2004 Sienna) is a spectacular road car. He's got four chairs and a 60-40 split bench seat behind; and there's a luggage space behind the bench seat that holds a lot of stuff. With the bench seat folded down flat and the rear seats folded and flipped up, he holds four six-foot-tall by four-foot-wide bookcases. With the seats all in use, it holds me, two to four drum corps kids, and all their associated tour stuff. Cross country.

He's got the AWD option, and the big 6-cylinder engine. This gives me lots of security even in Great Plains thunderboomers and plenty of power for the Rockies. Downside is that this configuration in a vehicle this size only gives me 18 mpg.

You might seriously consider a minivan for the road trip. Six kids in a station wagon would send me mental. Worse than I already am, I mean.

[piqaboo]

It should be a pretty insane trip in a station wagon with a 9, 7 and 2 year-old. I’m seriously considering purchasing something bigger just so we don’t have to hear all the whining about being crowed together in the back seat

You dont have the kind of station wagon with the seats that flip up in the back compartment? (they run perpendicular to the seats in the rest of the car.)

Altoid knows when there is a long drive coming. We move the carseat from the minivan to the 'blue car' as she calls it (aka "mama's car"). Bluecar gets >10mpg better than "her" car (as she calls the minivan. Its also "her" truck. OT gets the bike apparently.)
She sees that and she knows its roadtrip time.