Jan.16, 2010
Yesterday was a day of snorkeling. It was a nice area on Maui right next to a road and near the western part of the island.
The condo is nice and 7 of us girls fit into it. Its nice but we have a bug problem so everything has to be tucked away to keep bugs off. The first day everyone did lunch in the girls condo. It worked but then us girls ended up with all the dishes and didn’t have any for dinner.
I was in the water snorkeling first and was one of the last to come out. I came in the first time to grab the rashguard. I went far, almost to the end of the reef but turned back because I thought if something was to happen I would have no way of helping myself. So I headed back and found out that a few people had seen a sea turtle. I thought I shouldn’t have gone off on my own. So I went out again with Denny. I ended up with Jacob, Allen, and Andrew.
It was near the coral I saw but it was more dead and a few corals were completely destroyed. Its sad that such beauty is getting destroyed just due to carelessness. Even I could see that our group were careless at times getting into the water and fins hitting coral or disturbing sandy bottoms.
When the group decided to head back I headed back with the guys but we noticed that the other people were looking at something. It was a Sea Turtle! I am so happy to see one. The group followed it then I thought it would be good to stop because it could get spooked. I headed back and the groups broke up. Allen and I headed back. On the way back I saw a small boxfish. Its harder to point to something snorkeling then diving. But Allen saw it and we headed on. We made it to shore and when everyone got back we had a group photo. We headed back to the condo to freshen up before going shopping. I went shopping and got most of the stuff for the meal I am making but somehow forgot the chicken. So today I went back and got it.
Today started off on the wrong foot. I had coffee was trying to get skype to work so I walked up the stairs with coffee in one hand and the net book in another, bad idea liquid with electronics. I tripped on the stairs and went down. The laptop went down and I slid and fell spilling my coffee on the carpet and netbook. The netbook seems to be working fine but I was worried for awhile. Then we had to deal with the carpet, which came out worse then the netbook, which smells like coffee now. The next was the office was closed so I didn’t know how I would get my packages. On top of that all the money I had from the loan is no longer there and so if I don’t get it then I have nothing to spend and am stuck. My only thought is that this loan company just takes back what isn’t used. On the good side I got my packages. I kept praying and finally consented that if my packages didn’t arrive I wouldn’t care as long as the netbook worked. I went outside to get my snorkel gear and Brenna asked if anything was wrong so I told her and managed not to burst into tears. As I was talking I saw the mail truck and ran down there. The guy was just about to call the number that was on the packages. I was able to get mine and picked one up for Denny as well. The netbook works and I got my packages. God does answer prayer.
After that got cleared up the group headed out to the lava flow and snorkeling. We went until the road ended and has beautiful lava flows. Lots of volcanic rocked that had been deposited and weathered. It was so awesome to see it. It made me want to go back to geology just for that. We walked for a long time but couldn’t decide on a spot to snorkel. So we got back in the cars and found a sandy beach. We couldn’t snorkel but all of us just wanted to swim. We jumped into the water and had fun in the blue water being able to see the bottom which was about 10 or more feet down.
Denny found a snorkel area so I got out of the water and headed to snorkel. A few of us went snorkeling. I saw snowflake morays. I was watching the one but the surf kept moving me. In the end the surf moved me and I saw another eel head come up. 2 eels! One was along the coral edge and the other just his head coming up. It was amazing because the only eels I had seen were the green morays, which are much bigger then the ones I saw. It made my day to see something that not many others saw. Unfortunately Denny hit some urchins on accident and got spines up and down his pinky finger and some in his arm, so he spent most of tonight pulling them out. one of the girls got one that went up into her fin and stabbed her foot. We got it out and both were ok.
When we got back it was some time before dinner and I got a chance to freshen up. For dinner the boys made Kabobs, grits, and dessert was brownies. After dinner we headed to the store. At the store I got the rest of the ingredients I needed. I got back and found the kitchen a mess and so I cleaned it while talking to the family at home. I was able to talk to Mom, Paula, Carrie, Taber, Erin and Trevor. It was nice talking to them. Man I am tired with doing alot of stuff.
Jan. 18, 2010
I was so tired last night that I didn’t get a chance to log what happened. It began with getting ready for snorkeling and then a whale watch. When I was getting into the car I heard a snap and found that the hook that kept the halter of my swimsuit together had broken. Luckily I had a shirt on so Brenna tied it up and I made do with a really tight suit the whole day. We went to Black Rock beach near the Sheraton hotel. It was clean sandy with beautiful blue water with a reef on cliff. I finally headed out and from the sandy to the coral reef. two other people were with me. As I headed to the reef I saw a trumpet fish swimming along the sandy bottom. When I got to the reef I saw so many fish that I only kept tract of which ones I saw and not the count. When I was swimming along I saw an eel. It wasn’t just in a hole but swimming along the coral and ocean bottom. It moved from rock to rock and on the one rock it rested and opened its mouth. I wish I had a camera. It had a green head and green body with white dots. Finally it settled in a hole and I moved on. I saw a yellow tang, the fish that has the scar in finding nemo, I have the name written down somewhere, unicorn fish, convicts, black durgon and much much more. Becky came up and asked if I heard the whales singing. I dove down and I could hear the whales singing! It was beautiful. I hardly heard it at the surface because the sound travels better in deeper water do to no sound being lost to the air. While floating on the surface I saw a small eagle ray in the middle of some fish. Oh how I wish I had my dive gear for it would have been deep enough and perfect conditions for SCUBA. The group I was with headed farther out to sea and we found not one but two Sea Turtles at a cleaning station! We looked at them and as we did one came to the surface within touching range. I could see every feature on its face. I was interesting to see it move its head in and out of the water to breathe. The mouths look like they have some pretty strong beaks. We stopped following it and headed out farther and Nicole almost ran into another Sea Turtle! And farther off was also one. How much more awesome could it get? We headed out again and found another cleaning station which had 2 sea turtles on it. So 6 Sea Turtles in all! I said the next thing I wanted to see was a shark bit sadly I didn’t see one. I was far out so Becky and I headed back in. Some people were feeding the fish and we got caught in the middle so we got to see swarms of fish in one area. In that swarm of fish was a puffer swimming along. It was so cute and came so close I could have touched it. As we were headed back 6 cuttlefish were right near where I had started snorkeling. This snorkel expedition turned out very good. Becky and I got pushed around by the waves when we came in causing me to get a lot of sand in my suit.
By then I was tired so I sat down and ate my lunch. As I was eating my lunch a girl got tumbled by the wave and injured her neck and face. They couldn’t get her out of the water so some of the Hiram students sat and blocked the waves by sitting in front of her. The good thing is that she could move her arms and feet. After that I went with Liz and Brenna to shower out all the sand in our swimsuits. Sand was were it shouldn’t be that’s for sure. After that I decided that the best way to get out the sand was to get into the water. So I joined a few of the guys and I body surfed the waves. I was able to surf and then get up on my feet and plant them in the sand and not fall and get all sandy. After that I got out and did my fish ids and then sun tanned for while before it was time to leave for whale watching.
On the way to whale watching we had problem with people not getting to the cars in time but it worked out in the end. We Whale watched with the Pacific Whale Foundation. We had a lot of whale activity from Humpback whales. First we saw a mother and her calf along with the male follower and 2 or males following. It was amazing to see the fins and the arch out of the water. The mother can carry as well as nurse at the same time. The whales feed in Alaska and then breed and train in Hawaii. The mother will not eat but the calf will. It was cool to hear whale facts while looking at the whales. We moved away because we didn’t want to disturb the mother trying to train her calf in how to be a whale. We came upon another mother and calf with only one male follower. We have to be 100yards from them but we did seem them very well. The calf breached a few times. People cant agree on why the humpback whales do that but most agree it’s a signaling technique. The calf got curious and got super close to the boat that I could see the eyes when he came out of the water. We stopped engines until they moved. As we did that they put a hydrophone down and we heard whale songs from a male somewhere nearby. After the calf gave a show with 2 breaches right in front of me, the mother moved it along and we finally moved. We saw a competition group of males. We stopped watching them and headed to the harbor. On the way there and mother and calf were in our way. The mother was rolling and lifting fins. It was harder to see since we were not close. So that ended a wonderful day. For dinner I made chicken tortilla casserole with salad and Nicole made apple dumplings.
Today We did the 12 mile hike through the crater, should be called a erosional valley, of Haleakala. We started at an elevation about 10,000ft. Basically only rocks and dirt at the summit. I was with the fast group for the beginning but somehow managed to be the slowest person. Lol oh well. We went down hill for about 4000ft and then walked across cinder cones and lava field. We rested at a cabin and then headed to the steepest mountain and went up 2000ft. It was almost 2 hours up the steep mountain side and I was dying. I didn’t have enough water and I knew I was over heating not even half way up the mountain. I was doing good at the start but the trail kept going on and on and on. It was sandy until we got to the lava field and then after getting past the cinder cones it was green. It was still very hot and dry that I was dehydrating and overheating. The final part was the hardest not having any water and having to go up switch backs up the mountain. All in all it was fun and I would do it again as long as I have more water with me.
After being dirty, dehydrated and hungry we went to Da Kitchen for good Polynesian food. I had teriyaki chicken that had been marinated for 48 hours. It was so good! I am so glad tomorrow is a free day.
Jan 20, 2010
Yesterday was a free day. I wanted to sleep in but at 8:30am I was awake. Around 10 I went shopping with Ahne. I came to a place that sold Maui made soaps. So I got one for my parents and I got a free sample. On the way back to the condo I picked up shaved ice. It had ice cream and the flavoring on the ice was cherry and pineapple, just wonderful. Then Swaffy and Johnny B went surfing and I watched their stuff and tanned. Swaffy got up at least 3 times. Afterwards I went to the beach and boogie boarded with some of the students. After that we had dinner at the girls condo using leftovers. I am so sore from the hike. My calves and hips hurt. My socks caused a reaction and I have rashes on the back of my heels.
Today was NOAA. We learned about Hump-back whales from Ed Lyman and how he works on untangling them if they come entangled. It made me want to work with Hump-back whales. I really like the songs that the male whales sing. It so pretty sounding even if it is grunts, moans and growls. After the presentation Denny showed us the fishing area. It is an area that was once an area for Hawaiian aquaculture. It is being rebuilt to be used again and as a historic site. After that we head to the Iao Needle. It is a mountain peak standing by itself because it eroded away from the rest. Wasn’t all that impressive but the nature around the stream was really nice and I liked standing at the rail hearing the water babble over the rocks. The area around the needle was I think more worth it then the needle itself. I came back to the condo and we pulled everything out of the fridge to see what we had for lunch and leftover. A group of us then headed to the post office to send home stuff. I sent home the soap along with my fish id card and some postcard to the family, Tom, Tom’s family and Banecroft house. Then I went with Nicole, Kanako, Brenna, Liz, Jacob and Johnny B to watch the sunset. Along the way we met up with Nate. When we got to the beach it was fun having my feet in the sand with the waves coming over them. I got some really nice photos because there was very little clouds covering the sun. Denny joined us but had to leave to pick someone up at snorkel bobs. I just loved the sunset. I want to get pictures of sunsets around the world. When we were watching a wave came up and tried to take Nates backpack and other peoples shoes. After the sun went down we headed back for dinner. It was leftovers from all the food we had. We have to leave here by 5:45am. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.
Jan. 23, 2010 (lost one two whole days traveling and crossing datelines)
At this moment sitting in my hotel room at the New Empire Hotel I can hear the sounds of mopeds, cars honking horns, buses moving people here and there and the tuk tuks trying to find customers or moving along the busy streets of Bangkok, Thailand in Chinatown.
Today we went to two temples and walked around and then we took a river barge to the barge museum. It has all the royal barges still used in ceremonies along with one that got destroyed in WWII. The bummer was that we had to pay 100baht to bring in cameras so I didn't get any pictures at the museum. Then through the small cannels we proceeded and saw lots of cool things. It is very tourist oriented so everyone wants to show you something or get you to buy something. Street food is very good here. Due to the loss of time I am very tired but have lots of homework to do. Good night for now.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Alaska to Maui,HI
Jan. 11, 2010
At the University for internet usage. The ground had a blanket of snow on it and it was windy and snowed nonstop most of the day.
After the university we headed to the store to pick up groceries for tonight and the next 2 days. I picked up 2 post cards, one to Mom and Dad and the other to Paula.
When I got back to the Shrine I read for awhile then went outside to call Tom. It was interesting trying to talk while the wind is hitting you. But I did find shelter enough to talk to him for awhile. Dinner today is vegetarian lasagna, salad and dessert is lava cake, which was delicious. We went exploring again tonight. It was fun to find more places in the area. The snow was deep in some places and came up to mid calf. I am glade I go out with the group to go do stuff. It was fun exploring in the snow at night.
Jan. 12, 2010
Today is a half free day. I slept in till 10am, which was very nice. Nicole said that she had seen whale blows so a group of us went to see if we could see them. While walking we saw the birds were taking mussels from the shore and droping them on the road making them break. They would then eat them. I was told that they only seem to do this in the winter, which must be cause food is scarcer so they turn to the sea.
It was high tide when we saw the whale blows. We went from the point down closer to the ocean near the rocks. The snow was past my ankles. The group that I was with headed back and I followed.
After eating lunch and relaxing David and Sigrid saw more whale blows. I have never gotten in my boots and coat so fast to go to the point to see the whales. With Denny’s binoculars I saw either a fin or a head of one of the whales. Denny said that the plumes were those of Humpback whales. It was getting cold so we headed back.
Around 2:30pm class started and David talked about the book Measuring the World. After that we had a break before the Biomes class would take place. I continued reading Night Thoughts of a Classic Physicist. Then class started and Denny talked about the Boreal Forest and the Continental Shelf biomes. We are going to see the continental shelf biome tomorrow. After class Mike and I talked a little bit about Maui and how we were looking forward to it. I cant wait for warm weather.
After dinner a group went out to play hide and go seek. Matt was the seek. I bundled up and head to one of the evergreen tree and lasted for quite awhile. Not everyone was found. On the second game I crawled in farther into the tree. Swafford crawled in too. He left after a long time waiting. I left and found Kaneko and Nicole. Unfortunately I was found by Tim. A few left so another game was not done. It wasn’t too cold out just got wet from sitting.
Jan.13, 2010
My phone it dead. It got wet yesterday but it seemed fine when I checked but the battery got too wet and died. .
So mom is sending me a cell phone to use. So God works in very many ways. Mom was thought something was wrong at first because she didn’t recognize the phone number I was using. I also have a sore throat which I hope to fight so I am not miserable in Maui.
Today we were at NOAA, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. We had a variety of speakers. It was interesting to hear different people speak. My favorite speaker was a girl who SCUBA dived under the arctic ice. The pictures of her dives were so clear that it made me jealous. We ate lunch that was packed ahead of time. After lunch we toured the wet lab and the genetics lab with Sharon, who is a Hiram Alum.. It was cool to see the lab.
The talks were on a variety of subjects such as data gathering, different projects, Red king crab vs. Golden King crab, Nearshore fish assessments, and artic ice diving. During the king crab talk the power went out. So the speaker just finished it in the dark. It wasnt bad but I wasnt able to take notes because of lack of light. After that the final speaker came on. Because of the loss of power we did not get to do anything with the science on a sphere.
I headed back to the shrine in the small van and proceeded to back up and take a shower. When the rest of the group got back I was able to finally have cough drops. I guess I caught a cold.
Jan. 14, 2010
Yesterday we made our lunches for the long plane ride to Maui. We had to be up by 4am and I felt terrible since I am fighting a cold. We got everyone loaded with there bags into the vans and made it to the airport. When I got there I found out that when Alaska Airlines rebooked me on the flight to Alaska they had canceled my flight to Maui. Im still trying to figure that one out of how they could do that. It got fixed but I am not sitting by the group.
2:48pm Hawaii time
Finally after a 4 hour layover we are on our way to Hawaii. Caitlin and I got emergency exit seats but we gave them up to David and Sigrid since they would benefit more with a long flight having the leg room. I am kinda excited because I will get to make a meal when we are Maui. I figured since I haven’t helped very much with cooking it would be a good idea.
On the funnier side of things Becky, Brenna, Liz and I went walking through the airport and on the way back was walking in the opposite direction on the moving walkways. We did it about three times. We saw Matt doing it first and started doing it to harass him but it turned out to be lots of fun.
For dinner yesterday David made a delicious quiche. Also a lot of salad was left so everyone had lots of salad. On the table I was sitting at we were trying to get Jake to finish his second helping of salad. It was very funny. When we were eating ice cream Allen didn’t want sprinkles so Matt and John were trying to get some one to put sprinkles on Allens ice cream. So I did. I dont think they were expecting me to do that because they didnt think I would have, always fun to surprise people. Allen wouldn’t finish it so Becky finished it and Allen got a new bowel that I did not put sprinkles on.
After dinner a group cleaned and people packed up. It was nice because I got to visit with some of the girls.
Jan. 15, 2010
First full day in Maui. The place we are staying is called Maui Vista and are condos. I am staying with all the Hiram girls. So 7 in the condo. We have a partial ocean few in Kihei, Maui with only a 2 minute walk to the beach.
Lunch was in the condo that I am staying at. It was interesting trying to get 22 people in a 6 person condo. After that we had a talk about what the week is going to be like and what we were doing today.
We then proceeded to get snorkel gear for those who didnt have any and went to snorkel. On the way there I saw dolphins. I dont remember the name of the place but it was a good place to snorkel. I was the first in the water. I saw so many fish it is just amazing. I went back just to get my rashguard and then went back into the water. I went almost to the edge of the reef when I turned back because I didnt see anyone around me. When I went back a few of the guys had seen a sea turtle. So then Denny finally went out and I went out again. I never fully got out of the water in the first place.
So I swam with Jacob, Andrew, and Allen and we went pretty far out. We met up with Denny and the group he was with when we decided to turn around. I headed back and the my group noticed that the other group had seen something. It was a sea turtle! It was small but so amazing. We followed it then headed back. I really wanted to see a ray but maybe next time.
We then went to the store to get stuff for the week. I got most of the stuff for my meal but forgot the chicken so know I have to go back to the store after snorkel tomorrow.
I love Hawaii. I am trying not to compare Maui to Kauai. Maui has much more drier areas due to the mountains causing a rainshadow desert. So much is in store for me here and it is going to be so much fun.
I love and miss everyone and thank you for following me and commenting!
At the University for internet usage. The ground had a blanket of snow on it and it was windy and snowed nonstop most of the day.
After the university we headed to the store to pick up groceries for tonight and the next 2 days. I picked up 2 post cards, one to Mom and Dad and the other to Paula.
When I got back to the Shrine I read for awhile then went outside to call Tom. It was interesting trying to talk while the wind is hitting you. But I did find shelter enough to talk to him for awhile. Dinner today is vegetarian lasagna, salad and dessert is lava cake, which was delicious. We went exploring again tonight. It was fun to find more places in the area. The snow was deep in some places and came up to mid calf. I am glade I go out with the group to go do stuff. It was fun exploring in the snow at night.
Jan. 12, 2010
Today is a half free day. I slept in till 10am, which was very nice. Nicole said that she had seen whale blows so a group of us went to see if we could see them. While walking we saw the birds were taking mussels from the shore and droping them on the road making them break. They would then eat them. I was told that they only seem to do this in the winter, which must be cause food is scarcer so they turn to the sea.
It was high tide when we saw the whale blows. We went from the point down closer to the ocean near the rocks. The snow was past my ankles. The group that I was with headed back and I followed.
After eating lunch and relaxing David and Sigrid saw more whale blows. I have never gotten in my boots and coat so fast to go to the point to see the whales. With Denny’s binoculars I saw either a fin or a head of one of the whales. Denny said that the plumes were those of Humpback whales. It was getting cold so we headed back.
Around 2:30pm class started and David talked about the book Measuring the World. After that we had a break before the Biomes class would take place. I continued reading Night Thoughts of a Classic Physicist. Then class started and Denny talked about the Boreal Forest and the Continental Shelf biomes. We are going to see the continental shelf biome tomorrow. After class Mike and I talked a little bit about Maui and how we were looking forward to it. I cant wait for warm weather.
After dinner a group went out to play hide and go seek. Matt was the seek. I bundled up and head to one of the evergreen tree and lasted for quite awhile. Not everyone was found. On the second game I crawled in farther into the tree. Swafford crawled in too. He left after a long time waiting. I left and found Kaneko and Nicole. Unfortunately I was found by Tim. A few left so another game was not done. It wasn’t too cold out just got wet from sitting.
Jan.13, 2010
My phone it dead. It got wet yesterday but it seemed fine when I checked but the battery got too wet and died. .
So mom is sending me a cell phone to use. So God works in very many ways. Mom was thought something was wrong at first because she didn’t recognize the phone number I was using. I also have a sore throat which I hope to fight so I am not miserable in Maui.
Today we were at NOAA, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. We had a variety of speakers. It was interesting to hear different people speak. My favorite speaker was a girl who SCUBA dived under the arctic ice. The pictures of her dives were so clear that it made me jealous. We ate lunch that was packed ahead of time. After lunch we toured the wet lab and the genetics lab with Sharon, who is a Hiram Alum.. It was cool to see the lab.
The talks were on a variety of subjects such as data gathering, different projects, Red king crab vs. Golden King crab, Nearshore fish assessments, and artic ice diving. During the king crab talk the power went out. So the speaker just finished it in the dark. It wasnt bad but I wasnt able to take notes because of lack of light. After that the final speaker came on. Because of the loss of power we did not get to do anything with the science on a sphere.
I headed back to the shrine in the small van and proceeded to back up and take a shower. When the rest of the group got back I was able to finally have cough drops. I guess I caught a cold.
Jan. 14, 2010
Yesterday we made our lunches for the long plane ride to Maui. We had to be up by 4am and I felt terrible since I am fighting a cold. We got everyone loaded with there bags into the vans and made it to the airport. When I got there I found out that when Alaska Airlines rebooked me on the flight to Alaska they had canceled my flight to Maui. Im still trying to figure that one out of how they could do that. It got fixed but I am not sitting by the group.
2:48pm Hawaii time
Finally after a 4 hour layover we are on our way to Hawaii. Caitlin and I got emergency exit seats but we gave them up to David and Sigrid since they would benefit more with a long flight having the leg room. I am kinda excited because I will get to make a meal when we are Maui. I figured since I haven’t helped very much with cooking it would be a good idea.
On the funnier side of things Becky, Brenna, Liz and I went walking through the airport and on the way back was walking in the opposite direction on the moving walkways. We did it about three times. We saw Matt doing it first and started doing it to harass him but it turned out to be lots of fun.
For dinner yesterday David made a delicious quiche. Also a lot of salad was left so everyone had lots of salad. On the table I was sitting at we were trying to get Jake to finish his second helping of salad. It was very funny. When we were eating ice cream Allen didn’t want sprinkles so Matt and John were trying to get some one to put sprinkles on Allens ice cream. So I did. I dont think they were expecting me to do that because they didnt think I would have, always fun to surprise people. Allen wouldn’t finish it so Becky finished it and Allen got a new bowel that I did not put sprinkles on.
After dinner a group cleaned and people packed up. It was nice because I got to visit with some of the girls.
Jan. 15, 2010
First full day in Maui. The place we are staying is called Maui Vista and are condos. I am staying with all the Hiram girls. So 7 in the condo. We have a partial ocean few in Kihei, Maui with only a 2 minute walk to the beach.
Lunch was in the condo that I am staying at. It was interesting trying to get 22 people in a 6 person condo. After that we had a talk about what the week is going to be like and what we were doing today.
We then proceeded to get snorkel gear for those who didnt have any and went to snorkel. On the way there I saw dolphins. I dont remember the name of the place but it was a good place to snorkel. I was the first in the water. I saw so many fish it is just amazing. I went back just to get my rashguard and then went back into the water. I went almost to the edge of the reef when I turned back because I didnt see anyone around me. When I went back a few of the guys had seen a sea turtle. So then Denny finally went out and I went out again. I never fully got out of the water in the first place.
So I swam with Jacob, Andrew, and Allen and we went pretty far out. We met up with Denny and the group he was with when we decided to turn around. I headed back and the my group noticed that the other group had seen something. It was a sea turtle! It was small but so amazing. We followed it then headed back. I really wanted to see a ray but maybe next time.
We then went to the store to get stuff for the week. I got most of the stuff for my meal but forgot the chicken so know I have to go back to the store after snorkel tomorrow.
I love Hawaii. I am trying not to compare Maui to Kauai. Maui has much more drier areas due to the mountains causing a rainshadow desert. So much is in store for me here and it is going to be so much fun.
I love and miss everyone and thank you for following me and commenting!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Alaska
Jan 9th, 2010
First full day in Alaska. Today we will be heading to the museum and Juneau for shopping and exploring. Yesterday was the first day that I arrived in Juneau, Alaska. This was due to my flight out of Detroit being delayed by 2 hours on the 7th. I arrived in Chicago right as they finished boarding and I ran as much as I could towards the gate that the group was on. After arriving out of breath I saw the plane still at the gate but they had closed the doors and would not let me on. So after being out of breath as well as upset and stressed they got me on a flight to Anchorage. After the 6 hour flight I had to sleep in the airport since my flight would not be till 8am on the 8th.
I arrived on the 8th. We are staying at the Shrine of St. Theresa. When arriving at the Shrine the roads were icy and it was interesting trying to walk without slipping on top of having my bag with me. Reaching safely the door I was greeted by the group and introduced myself to the 3 that were not from Hiram. We ate lunch and I was told to go explore when I could.
We went to the tide pools right out side the place we are staying. After exploring and having wet feet it was nice to sit by the fire and relax and read the literature assigned. Dinner was turkey, stuffing, baked potato and a delicious salad. The dessert made by David was rice pudding with a berry mix put on top. By then I was fading due to lack of sleep and the warmth of the fireplace, so I went to bed.
The advantage of flying in by myself in the morning was seeing Alaska by air. I think I could stay here due to the beauty of Gods creation. It was so lush and green. We are right on the shore and can see mountain rising up on the other shore. Simply breath taking. The area was beautiful in every way. I could see myself coming back here. The way the snow, ice and green all mixed together is just mind boggling Alaska is simply a jewel of Gods creation.
Jan 9th, 2010
The weather was rainy about 39 degrees Fahrenheit with cloud cover.
The first stop after picking up Zippy from the airport was the Mendenhall Wetlands. It wasn’t too cold but it was raining and after being wet for awhile it got slightly cold. One of the best sites of the wetland was the mountains around the wetlands. At first the Glacier could not be seen but after awhile it was beautifully shown between mountain peeks. The clouds that covered parts of the mountains gave a beautiful picture perfect look. From the monocular I saw gorgeous mountains and valleys that would have been wonderful to take pictures of but my camera is not that good to get them.
Next was the Mendenhall Glacier. It is part of the fifth largest ice sheet. It was just beautiful in sitting there blue in the sun. It was nice and warm in the visitor center and the rangers were very nice. In the window looking out most of us sat down and enjoyed and awed at the view while we ate are lunch. It is part of a small ice age and the ice field that is 100miles north to south. It has been receding for about 200 years. The ice is constantly moving and will calve at anytime. On the lake around the glacier is frozen pieces of the broken off glacier frozen in the lake. However, they can move at anytime and some of the pieces have moved in the past few days. The blue color is because the glacier absorbs all the colors but blue causing the blue color. About 194ft are lost a year. If it continues in 5 to 10 years then the glacier will not be viewable from the visitor center. After looking around the center we headed to go see how close we could get to the glaciers. However the ground was so frozen solid that we were slipping and sliding the whole time and never made it to the lake. A few of us tried to walk down and ended up slipping and sliding. A few of the guys slid down the ice closer to the lake. There was a lot of laughs and jokes as we slipped and slided back to the group that did not try to walk on the ice. It was fun but I was getting cold and tired.
We headed to downtown Juneau after visiting the museum. Those who are 21 went to the bar as others went exploring. Tim and I ended up by ourselves and looked for a bookstore. After exploring a used bookstore we met up with Denny, David and Sigrid. We went into 2 more stores to look around and then met up with most of the group and headed to the car. We then proceeded to the grocery store to get dinner and other things.
For dinner we had salmon, cooked by Clay, with potato, green beans, and salad. For desert we had half pudding, which was warm and delicious.
Jan. 10th 2010; Sunday
Today is suppose to be a free day to explore but the weather is ugly with heavy rain/hail and now heavy snow.
I played rummy and hearts with Brenna, Rebecca, Jacob and Tim. We had lots of fun. I didn’t remember all the rules about hearts so it was hard to explain the game. We got distracted by marine mammals that we couldn’t tell if they were seals or sea lions. When we couldn’t figure out what the marine mammal was, Denny, Rebecca, Jacob and I went out to get a better look. With binoculars it was evident that they were Sea Lions. We then went closer to the chapel that has good lookout areas and could see with the naked eye the Sea Lions. About 7 of them were there. They were just awesome. We had a beautiful view of the ocean crashing onto the rocks. Due to the rain/snow it was wet and cold but it was just majestic. The trees with there roots coming out surrounding the chapel gave a book illustration feel.
The caretaker of the shrine let us ring the chapel bell. It is pulling the rope to let the bell rock back and forth. It was harder then it looked. Not a lot of strength was needed but a little force was needed to pull to get a ring out of the bell. After ringing the bell we went back to see if we could see whales. Unfortunately no whales were seen but I learned some information about how deep the sea floor goes. It is about 600ft in some areas and drops to over a thousand feet on the other side of one of the islands.
The wind picked up and the snow kept falling so we made the day class day not a free day due to the nasty weather. So we had class instead.
At first I wasn’t going to go when I saw everyone getting ready to go outside. Finally everyone but 2 went outside around 9pm. We bundled up and had a snowball fight in the newly pack able snowfall. With the wind hitting our faces we were laughing as cheeks were getting red from the cold. I was so bundled that I was sweating. Only my face was cold. We then tried to walk across the bridge towards the shrine to the protection of the trees. As soon as we got to the trees the wind was almost nothing but as soon as we left it the wind hit us. We turned off the flashlights and as my eyes adjusted to the night I could see the ocean in such majesty crashing against the rocks. It was so amazing watching it with the snow blowing it was like one was on the ship. I came in early and kinda wish I didn’t because they made a snowman. So now we were all happy, awake and warming up with hot chocolate or hot tea.
Now today is email, shopping and homework day. I miss everyone at home but I am having a fabulous time.
First full day in Alaska. Today we will be heading to the museum and Juneau for shopping and exploring. Yesterday was the first day that I arrived in Juneau, Alaska. This was due to my flight out of Detroit being delayed by 2 hours on the 7th. I arrived in Chicago right as they finished boarding and I ran as much as I could towards the gate that the group was on. After arriving out of breath I saw the plane still at the gate but they had closed the doors and would not let me on. So after being out of breath as well as upset and stressed they got me on a flight to Anchorage. After the 6 hour flight I had to sleep in the airport since my flight would not be till 8am on the 8th.
I arrived on the 8th. We are staying at the Shrine of St. Theresa. When arriving at the Shrine the roads were icy and it was interesting trying to walk without slipping on top of having my bag with me. Reaching safely the door I was greeted by the group and introduced myself to the 3 that were not from Hiram. We ate lunch and I was told to go explore when I could.
We went to the tide pools right out side the place we are staying. After exploring and having wet feet it was nice to sit by the fire and relax and read the literature assigned. Dinner was turkey, stuffing, baked potato and a delicious salad. The dessert made by David was rice pudding with a berry mix put on top. By then I was fading due to lack of sleep and the warmth of the fireplace, so I went to bed.
The advantage of flying in by myself in the morning was seeing Alaska by air. I think I could stay here due to the beauty of Gods creation. It was so lush and green. We are right on the shore and can see mountain rising up on the other shore. Simply breath taking. The area was beautiful in every way. I could see myself coming back here. The way the snow, ice and green all mixed together is just mind boggling Alaska is simply a jewel of Gods creation.
Jan 9th, 2010
The weather was rainy about 39 degrees Fahrenheit with cloud cover.
The first stop after picking up Zippy from the airport was the Mendenhall Wetlands. It wasn’t too cold but it was raining and after being wet for awhile it got slightly cold. One of the best sites of the wetland was the mountains around the wetlands. At first the Glacier could not be seen but after awhile it was beautifully shown between mountain peeks. The clouds that covered parts of the mountains gave a beautiful picture perfect look. From the monocular I saw gorgeous mountains and valleys that would have been wonderful to take pictures of but my camera is not that good to get them.
Next was the Mendenhall Glacier. It is part of the fifth largest ice sheet. It was just beautiful in sitting there blue in the sun. It was nice and warm in the visitor center and the rangers were very nice. In the window looking out most of us sat down and enjoyed and awed at the view while we ate are lunch. It is part of a small ice age and the ice field that is 100miles north to south. It has been receding for about 200 years. The ice is constantly moving and will calve at anytime. On the lake around the glacier is frozen pieces of the broken off glacier frozen in the lake. However, they can move at anytime and some of the pieces have moved in the past few days. The blue color is because the glacier absorbs all the colors but blue causing the blue color. About 194ft are lost a year. If it continues in 5 to 10 years then the glacier will not be viewable from the visitor center. After looking around the center we headed to go see how close we could get to the glaciers. However the ground was so frozen solid that we were slipping and sliding the whole time and never made it to the lake. A few of us tried to walk down and ended up slipping and sliding. A few of the guys slid down the ice closer to the lake. There was a lot of laughs and jokes as we slipped and slided back to the group that did not try to walk on the ice. It was fun but I was getting cold and tired.
We headed to downtown Juneau after visiting the museum. Those who are 21 went to the bar as others went exploring. Tim and I ended up by ourselves and looked for a bookstore. After exploring a used bookstore we met up with Denny, David and Sigrid. We went into 2 more stores to look around and then met up with most of the group and headed to the car. We then proceeded to the grocery store to get dinner and other things.
For dinner we had salmon, cooked by Clay, with potato, green beans, and salad. For desert we had half pudding, which was warm and delicious.
Jan. 10th 2010; Sunday
Today is suppose to be a free day to explore but the weather is ugly with heavy rain/hail and now heavy snow.
I played rummy and hearts with Brenna, Rebecca, Jacob and Tim. We had lots of fun. I didn’t remember all the rules about hearts so it was hard to explain the game. We got distracted by marine mammals that we couldn’t tell if they were seals or sea lions. When we couldn’t figure out what the marine mammal was, Denny, Rebecca, Jacob and I went out to get a better look. With binoculars it was evident that they were Sea Lions. We then went closer to the chapel that has good lookout areas and could see with the naked eye the Sea Lions. About 7 of them were there. They were just awesome. We had a beautiful view of the ocean crashing onto the rocks. Due to the rain/snow it was wet and cold but it was just majestic. The trees with there roots coming out surrounding the chapel gave a book illustration feel.
The caretaker of the shrine let us ring the chapel bell. It is pulling the rope to let the bell rock back and forth. It was harder then it looked. Not a lot of strength was needed but a little force was needed to pull to get a ring out of the bell. After ringing the bell we went back to see if we could see whales. Unfortunately no whales were seen but I learned some information about how deep the sea floor goes. It is about 600ft in some areas and drops to over a thousand feet on the other side of one of the islands.
The wind picked up and the snow kept falling so we made the day class day not a free day due to the nasty weather. So we had class instead.
At first I wasn’t going to go when I saw everyone getting ready to go outside. Finally everyone but 2 went outside around 9pm. We bundled up and had a snowball fight in the newly pack able snowfall. With the wind hitting our faces we were laughing as cheeks were getting red from the cold. I was so bundled that I was sweating. Only my face was cold. We then tried to walk across the bridge towards the shrine to the protection of the trees. As soon as we got to the trees the wind was almost nothing but as soon as we left it the wind hit us. We turned off the flashlights and as my eyes adjusted to the night I could see the ocean in such majesty crashing against the rocks. It was so amazing watching it with the snow blowing it was like one was on the ship. I came in early and kinda wish I didn’t because they made a snowman. So now we were all happy, awake and warming up with hot chocolate or hot tea.
Now today is email, shopping and homework day. I miss everyone at home but I am having a fabulous time.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The time has finally come. I am excited and nervous about leaving on this trip. It will be hard for me to only have email communication for 3 months but I believe I will handle it well. I am going knowing the God is watching over me as I go out and see His wonderful creation that I have not seen before.
First stop Alaska! wish me luck and I hope to give an update soon.
First stop Alaska! wish me luck and I hope to give an update soon.
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