I'm heading out for DragonCon, directly from work--only two hours from now! I'm still not fully recovered from WorldCon in Finland but I'll survive a few more days of mayhem.
Oh, I have a Goodreads giveaway going for my new book, Skytown! It's open to anyone in the U.S. and Canada.
One of the things I've wanted to do since my trip to Helsinki was put a note in for future CheapSleep Helsinki guests so they can find the hostel more easily. As of my stay in August 2017, take the #7 tram (not bus--trams are the ones that ride on tracks) from either the downtown train station or the Pasila/Bolle station. The tram will get you to the Hattulantie stop and then you just walk around the nearest corner (cross the road, cross the road again to get catty-corner from where the tram lets you out--there's a sign for a jazz bar and the crossing is one of the ones that make noise). When you're across, turn right and walk about half a block. There are signs. You'll need to press the buzzer and wait for someone to answer. Someone is on staff all day and night so if you don't get an answer, keep trying. Everyone in Helsinki speaks English so don't worry that you won't be understood. Reception is on the fourth floor. There are lifts. Staff are very nice but very overworked, so be patient!
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Fire! Trains! Steampunk! Chattacon 2013
This weekend I went to Chattacon, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Chattanooga's only two hours from my house, which is the perfect distance: not so far that I'm over-tired when I get there, but far enough that I feel like I've actually gone somewhere. And I really like Chattanooga. So I went to Chattacon although I knew I wouldn't know a single soul there (I didn't) and I wasn't sure I would get much from the panels (I kind of did). I did enjoy myself a lot, though. Here are some pix and some excerpts from my travel journal. Warning: it's long.
Jan. 25, 2013
4:30pm
Despite freezing rain, I made it to Chattacon and checked in at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel. The room is quite nice, with a little balcony that overlooks the pool. Outdoor pool. Freezing rain. Not a good combination. I put my bottled water on the balcony to chill.
The program...hmm. Well, this is a very small convention. I didn't expect it to have a huge program of panels. Fortunately I really like downtown Chattanooga, and if I can't find anything to do at the con there's lots to do in town--ice and rain or not.
left, view from my hotel balcony
6:15pm
I bought a con T-shirt ($25, but I like the design) and took a walk before it got dark. I just walked down Market Street for around 20-30 minutes, crossed the street, and came back. That took me through a chunk of downtown, with lots of banks and nice restaurants with candlelit tables, and a TVA building that looks just like the one in Knoxville, and a big Krystal's office building, and more banks, and parking garages, and bike rentals. I passed a clothing boutique with actual gas lamps flickering on either side of its front door.
So far I've been surprised and pleased by the friendly feel of the con. Maybe it's because it's so small, I dunno, but everyone is very welcoming. I've had more conversations already than I had the entire weekend at Worldcon last year. One of the conversations was with an elevator repairman who happened to be on the elevator with me and thus was able to repair it when it didn't move. He seemed like a nice man, and was fortunately competent, although his outlook on life--at least as far as elevators are concerned--was a bit negative.
Not to self: find out where the stairs are.
Jan. 25
about 7pm
Wow, it's getting cold out! I walked over to the opening ceremonies and about froze in my light wool jacket. I brought my heavier coat but it's in the car.
10:10 pm
Bath taken. Shower also achieved so I could wash my hair. A few dozen pages edited. Many tweets tweeted. I'm in bed now, about to turn out the light.
They've fallen silent now--probably driven inside by the cold--but there are a few noisy groups on the balconies or maybe spilling outside from overflowing parties. From time to time they start singing or chanting and, once, howling. It's fun to listen to. If I was a more outgoing person--and boy am I not outgoing--I'd stop by one of the advertized parties just so I could howl too.
left, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo hotel sign
Jan. 26, 2013
9:43 am
The howling went on until past 2am. I kept waking up, but it always made me smile. There's some hungover folks waking up about now.
This coffee shop, Chattz, is like a Starbucks but with slightly less bad-for-you food. I have a hot chocolate and a cranberry scone. Both are good. It's still very cold out but the sun is trying to come out. It's supposed to warm up to over 50 today.
I saw a hand-lettered sign on the elevator advertizing a steampunk panel at 11am. It was either a last-minute addition or was accidentally left out of the program. I'll head back soon so I can go to that one since there's nothing much else I want to see at eleven. Then at noon there's another steampunk panel I'll attend. From the con garb I've seen, there's a big steampunk presence at this con. Not surprising, really, since we're surrounded by old trains.
10:04
I have close to half an hour to kill before I head back. I'm almost out of hot chocolate and I'm getting bored. I am the most easily bored person I know. But if I leave now, I'll get back way too early and then I'll still be bored, just in my hotel room instead of here. I suppose I can scope out a place to have lunch. There's a cafe at the hotel that does pizza. Maybe I'll have pizza for lunch. It'll probably be awful. Hotel pizza.
Oh hell, I can't leave here until someone else does. I don't know if this is a place where you bus your own tables or leave your dishes for the servers to clean up. I don't want to leave my mess and have them think I'm a dick but I don't see anywhere to put my dishes. But apparently everyone else here is killing time too. No one has left since I got here.
Maybe we are all waiting for someone else to leave.
left, the front of the hotel
Jan. 26
about 10:55am
The steampunk panel I'm at is actually the making of an indie steampunk movie called "Engines of Destiny."
noon
That was an interesting panel and the movie looks really good. I need to remember to look for their kickstarter next month. The director reminded me so much of my brother, enthusiastic without being overstated, and super articulate. He even looked a little like Richard.
Now I'm at the next steampunk panel, although the previous panel was just finishing up when I got here so now I know a little bit about brewing mead.
1pm
That was a good panel too, relaxed and fun, although kind of unfocused. I'm tempted to make this a steampunk morning and go to the costuming panel down the hall, but I'm not really into that so I'm going to stay in this room for the History of SF panel. Although I suppose I could go get lunch instead.
[After some debate, the sunshine and warming weather drew me outdoors and I walked to the riverfront at this point.]
Jan. 26
2:30 pm
Finally found a place to eat, Big River Grille. It's actually the restaurant I wanted to try when I was in Chattanooga last January--not for Chattacon, just a daytrip--but I ended up next door because I went through the wrong entrance. It's a weird building.
I ordered a beer, because I felt like it. Southern Flyer Lager. It's excellent and has an airplane on the label. But I did not get carded and now I feel old.
about 5:50 pm
I missed the 4pm panel I kind of wanted to attend. I decided it would be a better use of my time to see the carousel in operation and up close. It was awesome, too. I'm totally putting a carousel in my next book [which is going to be steampunk, incidentally: thus my interest in the morning panels]. I didn't ride it because I didn't want to be sad and/or creepy. There are a lot of things I don't mind doing alone, but a middle-aged woman without kids riding a carousel by herself? No. I have limits.
The name of this panel is "Welcome to My Fantasy," whatever that's supposed to mean. The panelists have gathered and I just heard Tim Powers say plaintively, "Does anyone know what this panel is about?" No one knew. He wandered around asking if anyone had an official description of the panel, and a woman behind me told him that Chattacon isn't very focused on panels. It's mostly about the parties. Powers got very interested in where the parties are being held.
Jan. 26
9:45 pm
That last panel was low-key but interesting. After that I wandered around in the dusk and took pictures, mostly of the gaslights reflecting on the trains' sides. I saw a steampunk couple getting pix too; the guy was dressed as a conductor, so he stepped up into the doorway of a train car so the girl could take his picture. It really was amazingly cool. I should have asked to take a picture too but didn't think of it until later.
I bought some chocolates and a Coke, since I haven't had enough calories today yeah right. Then I came back to the room and took a bath to warm up, did some editing, and now I'm zonked. Even the howlers aren't out tonight [yet], so I'm not the only one who's tired. Or maybe they're all at parties in the other buildings, or running wild among the streets of Chattanooga under the full moon.
left, FIRE AND TRAINS this is the coolest picture I've ever taken
Jan. 27, 2013
8:37 am
I woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep. Finally I just gave up and got out of bed. Around 5am the howlers started up, singing drunkenly for a remarkably long time--past 6am.
I wanted a bagel or something light, but the hotel's coffee shop has nasty-looking pastries. I got a tiny hot chocolate that cost $3, although I must admit it's excellent.
The con ends early today and there are no panels and very little programming. If I check out and hit the road soon, I'll be home before lunchtime.
Jan. 25, 2013
4:30pm
Despite freezing rain, I made it to Chattacon and checked in at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel. The room is quite nice, with a little balcony that overlooks the pool. Outdoor pool. Freezing rain. Not a good combination. I put my bottled water on the balcony to chill.
The program...hmm. Well, this is a very small convention. I didn't expect it to have a huge program of panels. Fortunately I really like downtown Chattanooga, and if I can't find anything to do at the con there's lots to do in town--ice and rain or not.
left, view from my hotel balcony
6:15pm
I bought a con T-shirt ($25, but I like the design) and took a walk before it got dark. I just walked down Market Street for around 20-30 minutes, crossed the street, and came back. That took me through a chunk of downtown, with lots of banks and nice restaurants with candlelit tables, and a TVA building that looks just like the one in Knoxville, and a big Krystal's office building, and more banks, and parking garages, and bike rentals. I passed a clothing boutique with actual gas lamps flickering on either side of its front door.
So far I've been surprised and pleased by the friendly feel of the con. Maybe it's because it's so small, I dunno, but everyone is very welcoming. I've had more conversations already than I had the entire weekend at Worldcon last year. One of the conversations was with an elevator repairman who happened to be on the elevator with me and thus was able to repair it when it didn't move. He seemed like a nice man, and was fortunately competent, although his outlook on life--at least as far as elevators are concerned--was a bit negative.
Not to self: find out where the stairs are.
Jan. 25
about 7pm
Wow, it's getting cold out! I walked over to the opening ceremonies and about froze in my light wool jacket. I brought my heavier coat but it's in the car.
10:10 pm
Bath taken. Shower also achieved so I could wash my hair. A few dozen pages edited. Many tweets tweeted. I'm in bed now, about to turn out the light.
They've fallen silent now--probably driven inside by the cold--but there are a few noisy groups on the balconies or maybe spilling outside from overflowing parties. From time to time they start singing or chanting and, once, howling. It's fun to listen to. If I was a more outgoing person--and boy am I not outgoing--I'd stop by one of the advertized parties just so I could howl too.
left, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo hotel sign
Jan. 26, 2013
9:43 am
The howling went on until past 2am. I kept waking up, but it always made me smile. There's some hungover folks waking up about now.
This coffee shop, Chattz, is like a Starbucks but with slightly less bad-for-you food. I have a hot chocolate and a cranberry scone. Both are good. It's still very cold out but the sun is trying to come out. It's supposed to warm up to over 50 today.
I saw a hand-lettered sign on the elevator advertizing a steampunk panel at 11am. It was either a last-minute addition or was accidentally left out of the program. I'll head back soon so I can go to that one since there's nothing much else I want to see at eleven. Then at noon there's another steampunk panel I'll attend. From the con garb I've seen, there's a big steampunk presence at this con. Not surprising, really, since we're surrounded by old trains.
10:04
I have close to half an hour to kill before I head back. I'm almost out of hot chocolate and I'm getting bored. I am the most easily bored person I know. But if I leave now, I'll get back way too early and then I'll still be bored, just in my hotel room instead of here. I suppose I can scope out a place to have lunch. There's a cafe at the hotel that does pizza. Maybe I'll have pizza for lunch. It'll probably be awful. Hotel pizza.
Oh hell, I can't leave here until someone else does. I don't know if this is a place where you bus your own tables or leave your dishes for the servers to clean up. I don't want to leave my mess and have them think I'm a dick but I don't see anywhere to put my dishes. But apparently everyone else here is killing time too. No one has left since I got here.
Maybe we are all waiting for someone else to leave.
left, the front of the hotel
Jan. 26
about 10:55am
The steampunk panel I'm at is actually the making of an indie steampunk movie called "Engines of Destiny."
noon
That was an interesting panel and the movie looks really good. I need to remember to look for their kickstarter next month. The director reminded me so much of my brother, enthusiastic without being overstated, and super articulate. He even looked a little like Richard.
Now I'm at the next steampunk panel, although the previous panel was just finishing up when I got here so now I know a little bit about brewing mead.
1pm
That was a good panel too, relaxed and fun, although kind of unfocused. I'm tempted to make this a steampunk morning and go to the costuming panel down the hall, but I'm not really into that so I'm going to stay in this room for the History of SF panel. Although I suppose I could go get lunch instead.
[After some debate, the sunshine and warming weather drew me outdoors and I walked to the riverfront at this point.]
Jan. 26
2:30 pm
Finally found a place to eat, Big River Grille. It's actually the restaurant I wanted to try when I was in Chattanooga last January--not for Chattacon, just a daytrip--but I ended up next door because I went through the wrong entrance. It's a weird building.
I ordered a beer, because I felt like it. Southern Flyer Lager. It's excellent and has an airplane on the label. But I did not get carded and now I feel old.
about 5:50 pm
I missed the 4pm panel I kind of wanted to attend. I decided it would be a better use of my time to see the carousel in operation and up close. It was awesome, too. I'm totally putting a carousel in my next book [which is going to be steampunk, incidentally: thus my interest in the morning panels]. I didn't ride it because I didn't want to be sad and/or creepy. There are a lot of things I don't mind doing alone, but a middle-aged woman without kids riding a carousel by herself? No. I have limits.
The name of this panel is "Welcome to My Fantasy," whatever that's supposed to mean. The panelists have gathered and I just heard Tim Powers say plaintively, "Does anyone know what this panel is about?" No one knew. He wandered around asking if anyone had an official description of the panel, and a woman behind me told him that Chattacon isn't very focused on panels. It's mostly about the parties. Powers got very interested in where the parties are being held.
Jan. 26
9:45 pm
That last panel was low-key but interesting. After that I wandered around in the dusk and took pictures, mostly of the gaslights reflecting on the trains' sides. I saw a steampunk couple getting pix too; the guy was dressed as a conductor, so he stepped up into the doorway of a train car so the girl could take his picture. It really was amazingly cool. I should have asked to take a picture too but didn't think of it until later.
I bought some chocolates and a Coke, since I haven't had enough calories today yeah right. Then I came back to the room and took a bath to warm up, did some editing, and now I'm zonked. Even the howlers aren't out tonight [yet], so I'm not the only one who's tired. Or maybe they're all at parties in the other buildings, or running wild among the streets of Chattanooga under the full moon.
left, FIRE AND TRAINS this is the coolest picture I've ever taken
Jan. 27, 2013
8:37 am
I woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep. Finally I just gave up and got out of bed. Around 5am the howlers started up, singing drunkenly for a remarkably long time--past 6am.
I wanted a bagel or something light, but the hotel's coffee shop has nasty-looking pastries. I got a tiny hot chocolate that cost $3, although I must admit it's excellent.
The con ends early today and there are no panels and very little programming. If I check out and hit the road soon, I'll be home before lunchtime.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Late last night I got home from Worldcon in Chicago. I had a lot of fun but I must say I've very glad to be home. I only had a few days between returning from my trip to Alaska and leaving for Chicago (at 4am on Friday, incidentally), so I don't plan to go anywhere for many months if I can avoid it.
I kept a travel journal, of course, but it rambles more than the Alaska journal and descends into cranky mode a bit too often for me to want to post the whole thing. I'll just post some excerpts, mostly about the panels I attended (but not all panels since I didn't made notes for some of them). I really really really love the panels at cons. That's why I go. I was planning to meet up with a few online friends who attended, but I don't have a smartphone and OF COURSE the super expensive Hyatt didn't have free wifi, so I couldn't get in touch with them.
Anyway, here's what I did this weekend. I know it's long but I swear I cut a lot of what I wrote.
Above: Night view out the window of my hotel. I was on the 31st floor!
Friday, August 31, 2012 8:50 am
I'm at my first panel. I wanted to attend "Writing Gender Roles in SF" but I can't find the room--or rather, I found the room and no one is in it. So I think I'm in the panel "Creating Plots," but the posted schedule is still showing Thursday night's panels, so who knows where I am? Way to go, Chicon!
Compared to DragonCon, Chicon is lightly attended and terribly mundane. Then again, it's 9am. Also, at breakfast I sat at the next table over from a SF writer whose name escapes me--and it will drive me crazy until I can get home and check my bookshelves [Allen Steele, I believe]--talking to a younger writer about his career. It was pretty interesting to overhear, and I couldn't avoid eavesdropping.
10:15 am
The last panel, about plotting, was pretty good although not really useful in my case. They talked about outlining and pacing mostly. There was one woman who said she hated writing short stories and as a result always outlined them although she didn't always outline her novels. I wonder if that would work for me. I too hate writing short stories....
Friday, August 31, 2012 11:45 am
The Violence in Fantasy panel was excellent, and I'm following it up with the "Female Villains" panel. The violence panel was all men--including two authors I've read and liked [Scott Lynch and Douglas Hulick], which is always a plus--so I hope to get a more female perspective on similar issues in this one. It looks like the panel members are fairly evenly split male/female, although they're not all here yet.
12:30 pm
Note to self: buy David Boop's book. He's the only one on this panel who's trying to keep on topic and respond to the moderator's topics, and he's getting dumped on. Why would anyone agree to be on a Female Villains panel and then refuse to address the difference between male and female characters? I'm on the verge of leaving the panel out of boredom.
1:15 pm
The panel picked up, but not by a whole lot. The panel members hardly referenced any book at all, just movies and TV shows, even when an audience member asked specifically about well-written villains. And Gene Wolfe hardly got a chance to speak until the very end, when an audience member asked him a question directly. His reply was measured and intelligent, so I wish the panel had stayed on topic so he could have said more.
Above: daytime view from my hotel room. Foggy, windy day.
Friday, August 31, 2012 7:15 pm
Wow, am I slowing down. I've been up since 4am. After this next panel on YA books translated to film, I'm heading back to my room. I can take a bath and read my ghost book, then go to bed. There are a lot of panels tomorrow that I want to attend....
I just had a wonderful thought. The first panels start at 9am tomorrow, which is 10am my time. So I can sleep as late as I like and I won't miss them, because I couldn't sleep until 10am unless I was terribly ill.
Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012 8:15 am
Hey, it's September!
I slept until 6:45, which isn't bad. The YA books into movies panel last night was excellent, a small, relaxed group, a good moderator, and clever, interesting panelists. Since it was the last panel in that room we ran right up until 9pm.
I went to a nearby bagel place for breakfast and now I'm sitting outside the hotel. It's overcast and feels like rain. I wanted fresh air, but there's nowhere to sit except the 'smoker's garden,' so the air is nasty. I guess I'll go in and find a stretch of hallway to perch in while I wait [for the 9am panels].
10:15 am
I ended up going to the Men Writing Women panel, which had four male writers and one female librarian/academic on the panel. The discussion strayed pretty widely instead of focusing on, you know, men writing women characters. The men were very careful [to not say anything that could be perceived as sexist], which I think hampered their spontaneity. Of course, they were right to be so careful since the woman panelist got very sharp with a guy who made a comment (and an entirely appropriate and correct one) but used the word "femininity." She demanded he explain what he meant by that, and suggested he meant sexually available. My God, can we not have one single conversation on gender where someone doesn't derail over semantics? And you'd think she would know better. She acted like she was teaching a class, not participating on a panel.
Anyway, I'm following up with what should be a fun panel, The Art of the Cover Pose. Since Jim C. Hines is on the panel I hope it covers (ha) the unrealistic female poses that he spoofed on his blog a few months ago.
Above: Author Jim C. Hines and a lightsaber, demonstrating a particularly difficult cover pose. Hines also won his first Hugo at Worldcon this year.
Saturday, September 1, 2012 11:40 am
The covers panel was a lot of fun, especially the first part where Jim Hines did cover poses. Now I'm at a panel on worldbuilding. It should be good. I have no idea who's on the panel, but even if it's awful at least it's in a room with windows.
1:05 pm
I was waiting for the worldbuilding panel to start when I heard one of the panelists talking to a guy who'd asked him a question. His response was so ponderous and condescending that I started to worry about whether I'd enjoy the panel at all. Then I realized hey, this isn't a class. It's not required. So I left.
I went down to the dealer's room and looked around. I hadn't gone far when I found the Angry Robot booth, and recognized Wes Chu from his online icon pic (which is sort of creepy, but it's not like we aren't in the same little writing support group). I said hi, but he obviously didn't have a clue who I was, and probably couldn't hear me over all the noise. My voice gets really soft when I'm nervous. I asked if Laura Lam was there, thinking OMG, at least she'll know who I am, I betaed her book, but Wes said she wasn't around but might be by in another hour.
After that I went to find somewhere to eat. For a while I just walked, looking for a decent-looking restaurant. I went down a staircase in the middle of the sidewalk and found myself on a street beneath the street, which was cool, and right in front of me was the Billy Goat Bar and Grill. I wouldn't have gone in because it looked like such a tourist trap, but it was fantastically busy so I thought it might actually be good food. Well, it turned out to be cash only and the food was bland. It tasted like cafeteria hamburgers. I didn't even finish my burger.
Above: If you eat at the Billy Goat Tavern, make sure to bring cash and then go spend it elsewhere.
Saturday, September 1, 2012 4:30 pm
I meant to catch up but took a while to find an ATM so now the Writing Realistic Women panel is starting.
4:45 pm
Stop talking about your own books.
4:55 pm
It feels like I've attended this same panel over and over. They all reinvent the wheel. Yes, let's start with the realization that all people are people regardless of gender, and writing a rounded character no matter the gender is the important thing. Now let's discuss specifics. Or not. Let's go get pizza instead.
Also, if you only reference your own books in a panel, I start to assume that you haven't ever read any other books.
[After lunch] I had an hour to kill and tried to find a quiet corner where I could rest and read or write. Then I realized that duh, I have a room in this hotel. So I went up to my room and got some rest and quiet time. Like a toddler, I get cranky when I'm tired. Then just before 3pm I came back down to attend a panel. It was just a group of five prestigious authors telling funny anecdotes about previous conventions, mostly from the 1950s through 1970s. It was the fandom version of listening to aunts and uncles tell funny family stories. It was packed and everyone was laughing like crazy.
After that I felt much better, but unfortunately I came to this panel, which is endless. Now they are talking about men vs. women and they are not even discussing writing anymore. At least that means they're no longer talking about their own books. The only panelist who is trying to keep it on track is the self-published author, who isn't even the moderator.
Saturday, September 1, 2012 8:00 pm
The [minorities in SF] panel was very good and I have several new books I want to find now. It was almost 7:30 when it was over and I was starving, so I decided to blow off the 7:30 panels after all and went to find somewhere to eat.
It's a cool, blowy evening and every restaurant I found was packed. I wanted pizza, but the only pizza place I saw had a wait of an hour and a half just to get in. Finally, out of desperation I came back to the hotel and am in their uber-expensive restaurant. I am embarrassed to say how much I'm paying for a sirloin and a salad. I almost ordered the lamb, but it would have almost cost as much as my water bill this month. [Note to the worried: filling the tank of my car also costs almost as much as my water bill. So it's not all that much money.]
9 pm
[rant about the terrible service in the restaurant mercifully snipped] Grouchy cat is grouchy. Oh, damn, I meant to stop by the bar to see if any of my writing group are there. Never mind. I'm way too tired and not in a good mood. Besides, I walked down to Fannie May Candies after eating and got an assortment of extremely expensive chocolates, which I will proceed to enjoy in the bath.
[I forgot to include this in the journal, but right before I stepped into the bath I heard booming outside, and when I looked out the window I could just see the reflection of fireworks on a nearby building. I pulled on some clothes and went to watch fireworks over the lake from a window at the end of the hotel hallway, then when it was done I came back in and took my bath. It was a nice little surreal interlude.]
Above: Yet another view from my hotel window.
Sunday, September 2, 2012 8:40 am
I got breakfast at the bagel place, and had to fight to get online. [My laptop does not play well with others.] I finally got online via Starbucks wifi, of all places. But by then it was getting late so I only stayed long enough to check my email (nothing) and Twitter, where I found that Laura had tweeted me ten hours ago asking where I was. You know, the next con I go to, I am not staying in a hotel that doesn't have free wifi. [Or maybe I should get a smartphone, huh?]
I'm at a panel for Perseverance, for authors like me who can't see success in the foreseeable future. They didn't put it that way but that's what it is.
Sunday, September 2, 2012 10:25 am
The perseverance panel turned out to be excellent! The moderator kept it on track and the responses were brisk and interesting. It made me feel good about where I am right now instead of worse. I really appreciated that the panelists assumed the audience members weren't all raw beginners. They treated us professionally, which right away made me feel better.
Now I've checked out of the hotel and I'm at the "Committing Series" panel. One of the panelists is giving out cookies, and I have candy left over from last night. I'm set.
11:45 am
The series panel was pretty good, although whether I actually learned anything I hadn't already discovered by trial and error I don't know. Now I'm at a "Medical Myths and Errors" panel, which is in a room with actual tables. This is awesome because I can lean on a table instead of fidgeting around trying to get comfortable....
Of course, the last panel was in a big room with windows, so I spent most of the panel staring out at the trees tossing in the rainy wind and two crows who kept flapping around the courtyard. Maybe that's why I didn't get much out of the panel.
Above: View from the hotel window down the hall from my room. That's where the fireworks were on Saturday night.
Sunday, September 2, 2012 1:20 pm
The last panel was interesting and I've decided to charge right into the next and skip lunch. This one's about modern pseudoscience and should be very good. It's in another room with windows and I'm glad to see the sun's trying to come out.
4:35 pm
So, that last panel. My God, where to start? It would have been brilliant with any other moderator. A yeti would have made a better moderator; he could just grunt and point. He would not play devil's advocate so strenuously that he comes across as an obstructionist crackpot, he would not derail the topic, he would not interrupt the panelists, and he would not overtake the conversation with his own views. I only stayed because the panelists were well worth listening to, even if they didn't get much of a chance to talk. And they were all unfailingly polite to the moderator no matter how hysterical and off the wall she got.
And thus endeth Worldcon for me.
I kept a travel journal, of course, but it rambles more than the Alaska journal and descends into cranky mode a bit too often for me to want to post the whole thing. I'll just post some excerpts, mostly about the panels I attended (but not all panels since I didn't made notes for some of them). I really really really love the panels at cons. That's why I go. I was planning to meet up with a few online friends who attended, but I don't have a smartphone and OF COURSE the super expensive Hyatt didn't have free wifi, so I couldn't get in touch with them.
Anyway, here's what I did this weekend. I know it's long but I swear I cut a lot of what I wrote.
Friday, August 31, 2012 8:50 am
I'm at my first panel. I wanted to attend "Writing Gender Roles in SF" but I can't find the room--or rather, I found the room and no one is in it. So I think I'm in the panel "Creating Plots," but the posted schedule is still showing Thursday night's panels, so who knows where I am? Way to go, Chicon!
Compared to DragonCon, Chicon is lightly attended and terribly mundane. Then again, it's 9am. Also, at breakfast I sat at the next table over from a SF writer whose name escapes me--and it will drive me crazy until I can get home and check my bookshelves [Allen Steele, I believe]--talking to a younger writer about his career. It was pretty interesting to overhear, and I couldn't avoid eavesdropping.
10:15 am
The last panel, about plotting, was pretty good although not really useful in my case. They talked about outlining and pacing mostly. There was one woman who said she hated writing short stories and as a result always outlined them although she didn't always outline her novels. I wonder if that would work for me. I too hate writing short stories....
Friday, August 31, 2012 11:45 am
The Violence in Fantasy panel was excellent, and I'm following it up with the "Female Villains" panel. The violence panel was all men--including two authors I've read and liked [Scott Lynch and Douglas Hulick], which is always a plus--so I hope to get a more female perspective on similar issues in this one. It looks like the panel members are fairly evenly split male/female, although they're not all here yet.
12:30 pm
Note to self: buy David Boop's book. He's the only one on this panel who's trying to keep on topic and respond to the moderator's topics, and he's getting dumped on. Why would anyone agree to be on a Female Villains panel and then refuse to address the difference between male and female characters? I'm on the verge of leaving the panel out of boredom.
1:15 pm
The panel picked up, but not by a whole lot. The panel members hardly referenced any book at all, just movies and TV shows, even when an audience member asked specifically about well-written villains. And Gene Wolfe hardly got a chance to speak until the very end, when an audience member asked him a question directly. His reply was measured and intelligent, so I wish the panel had stayed on topic so he could have said more.
Friday, August 31, 2012 7:15 pm
Wow, am I slowing down. I've been up since 4am. After this next panel on YA books translated to film, I'm heading back to my room. I can take a bath and read my ghost book, then go to bed. There are a lot of panels tomorrow that I want to attend....
I just had a wonderful thought. The first panels start at 9am tomorrow, which is 10am my time. So I can sleep as late as I like and I won't miss them, because I couldn't sleep until 10am unless I was terribly ill.
Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012 8:15 am
Hey, it's September!
I slept until 6:45, which isn't bad. The YA books into movies panel last night was excellent, a small, relaxed group, a good moderator, and clever, interesting panelists. Since it was the last panel in that room we ran right up until 9pm.
I went to a nearby bagel place for breakfast and now I'm sitting outside the hotel. It's overcast and feels like rain. I wanted fresh air, but there's nowhere to sit except the 'smoker's garden,' so the air is nasty. I guess I'll go in and find a stretch of hallway to perch in while I wait [for the 9am panels].
10:15 am
I ended up going to the Men Writing Women panel, which had four male writers and one female librarian/academic on the panel. The discussion strayed pretty widely instead of focusing on, you know, men writing women characters. The men were very careful [to not say anything that could be perceived as sexist], which I think hampered their spontaneity. Of course, they were right to be so careful since the woman panelist got very sharp with a guy who made a comment (and an entirely appropriate and correct one) but used the word "femininity." She demanded he explain what he meant by that, and suggested he meant sexually available. My God, can we not have one single conversation on gender where someone doesn't derail over semantics? And you'd think she would know better. She acted like she was teaching a class, not participating on a panel.
Anyway, I'm following up with what should be a fun panel, The Art of the Cover Pose. Since Jim C. Hines is on the panel I hope it covers (ha) the unrealistic female poses that he spoofed on his blog a few months ago.
Saturday, September 1, 2012 11:40 am
The covers panel was a lot of fun, especially the first part where Jim Hines did cover poses. Now I'm at a panel on worldbuilding. It should be good. I have no idea who's on the panel, but even if it's awful at least it's in a room with windows.
1:05 pm
I was waiting for the worldbuilding panel to start when I heard one of the panelists talking to a guy who'd asked him a question. His response was so ponderous and condescending that I started to worry about whether I'd enjoy the panel at all. Then I realized hey, this isn't a class. It's not required. So I left.
I went down to the dealer's room and looked around. I hadn't gone far when I found the Angry Robot booth, and recognized Wes Chu from his online icon pic (which is sort of creepy, but it's not like we aren't in the same little writing support group). I said hi, but he obviously didn't have a clue who I was, and probably couldn't hear me over all the noise. My voice gets really soft when I'm nervous. I asked if Laura Lam was there, thinking OMG, at least she'll know who I am, I betaed her book, but Wes said she wasn't around but might be by in another hour.
After that I went to find somewhere to eat. For a while I just walked, looking for a decent-looking restaurant. I went down a staircase in the middle of the sidewalk and found myself on a street beneath the street, which was cool, and right in front of me was the Billy Goat Bar and Grill. I wouldn't have gone in because it looked like such a tourist trap, but it was fantastically busy so I thought it might actually be good food. Well, it turned out to be cash only and the food was bland. It tasted like cafeteria hamburgers. I didn't even finish my burger.
Saturday, September 1, 2012 4:30 pm
I meant to catch up but took a while to find an ATM so now the Writing Realistic Women panel is starting.
4:45 pm
Stop talking about your own books.
4:55 pm
It feels like I've attended this same panel over and over. They all reinvent the wheel. Yes, let's start with the realization that all people are people regardless of gender, and writing a rounded character no matter the gender is the important thing. Now let's discuss specifics. Or not. Let's go get pizza instead.
Also, if you only reference your own books in a panel, I start to assume that you haven't ever read any other books.
[After lunch] I had an hour to kill and tried to find a quiet corner where I could rest and read or write. Then I realized that duh, I have a room in this hotel. So I went up to my room and got some rest and quiet time. Like a toddler, I get cranky when I'm tired. Then just before 3pm I came back down to attend a panel. It was just a group of five prestigious authors telling funny anecdotes about previous conventions, mostly from the 1950s through 1970s. It was the fandom version of listening to aunts and uncles tell funny family stories. It was packed and everyone was laughing like crazy.
After that I felt much better, but unfortunately I came to this panel, which is endless. Now they are talking about men vs. women and they are not even discussing writing anymore. At least that means they're no longer talking about their own books. The only panelist who is trying to keep it on track is the self-published author, who isn't even the moderator.
Saturday, September 1, 2012 8:00 pm
The [minorities in SF] panel was very good and I have several new books I want to find now. It was almost 7:30 when it was over and I was starving, so I decided to blow off the 7:30 panels after all and went to find somewhere to eat.
It's a cool, blowy evening and every restaurant I found was packed. I wanted pizza, but the only pizza place I saw had a wait of an hour and a half just to get in. Finally, out of desperation I came back to the hotel and am in their uber-expensive restaurant. I am embarrassed to say how much I'm paying for a sirloin and a salad. I almost ordered the lamb, but it would have almost cost as much as my water bill this month. [Note to the worried: filling the tank of my car also costs almost as much as my water bill. So it's not all that much money.]
9 pm
[rant about the terrible service in the restaurant mercifully snipped] Grouchy cat is grouchy. Oh, damn, I meant to stop by the bar to see if any of my writing group are there. Never mind. I'm way too tired and not in a good mood. Besides, I walked down to Fannie May Candies after eating and got an assortment of extremely expensive chocolates, which I will proceed to enjoy in the bath.
[I forgot to include this in the journal, but right before I stepped into the bath I heard booming outside, and when I looked out the window I could just see the reflection of fireworks on a nearby building. I pulled on some clothes and went to watch fireworks over the lake from a window at the end of the hotel hallway, then when it was done I came back in and took my bath. It was a nice little surreal interlude.]
Sunday, September 2, 2012 8:40 am
I got breakfast at the bagel place, and had to fight to get online. [My laptop does not play well with others.] I finally got online via Starbucks wifi, of all places. But by then it was getting late so I only stayed long enough to check my email (nothing) and Twitter, where I found that Laura had tweeted me ten hours ago asking where I was. You know, the next con I go to, I am not staying in a hotel that doesn't have free wifi. [Or maybe I should get a smartphone, huh?]
I'm at a panel for Perseverance, for authors like me who can't see success in the foreseeable future. They didn't put it that way but that's what it is.
Sunday, September 2, 2012 10:25 am
The perseverance panel turned out to be excellent! The moderator kept it on track and the responses were brisk and interesting. It made me feel good about where I am right now instead of worse. I really appreciated that the panelists assumed the audience members weren't all raw beginners. They treated us professionally, which right away made me feel better.
Now I've checked out of the hotel and I'm at the "Committing Series" panel. One of the panelists is giving out cookies, and I have candy left over from last night. I'm set.
11:45 am
The series panel was pretty good, although whether I actually learned anything I hadn't already discovered by trial and error I don't know. Now I'm at a "Medical Myths and Errors" panel, which is in a room with actual tables. This is awesome because I can lean on a table instead of fidgeting around trying to get comfortable....
Of course, the last panel was in a big room with windows, so I spent most of the panel staring out at the trees tossing in the rainy wind and two crows who kept flapping around the courtyard. Maybe that's why I didn't get much out of the panel.
Sunday, September 2, 2012 1:20 pm
The last panel was interesting and I've decided to charge right into the next and skip lunch. This one's about modern pseudoscience and should be very good. It's in another room with windows and I'm glad to see the sun's trying to come out.
4:35 pm
So, that last panel. My God, where to start? It would have been brilliant with any other moderator. A yeti would have made a better moderator; he could just grunt and point. He would not play devil's advocate so strenuously that he comes across as an obstructionist crackpot, he would not derail the topic, he would not interrupt the panelists, and he would not overtake the conversation with his own views. I only stayed because the panelists were well worth listening to, even if they didn't get much of a chance to talk. And they were all unfailingly polite to the moderator no matter how hysterical and off the wall she got.
And thus endeth Worldcon for me.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Travel is broadening
I have traveled to Alaska and home again, I have eaten until even I was startled at how many calories I was able to engulf in a week, and I have been talking more or less nonstop about the trip ever since I got back--so much talking about it that I'm tired of yammering. And I haven't even unpacked and need to pack to go to Chicago and Worldcon this weekend.
The trip was marvelous. I kept a travel journal, so I'll just transcribe what I wrote and put some pictures in. (I'd include pix of my nephews, but my brother and sister-in-law probably don't want me to plaster their kids all over the internet, so I won't.) Occasionally I'll add a comment in brackets. Warning: this will be long--but, I hope, entertaining.
August 16, 2012
3pm
When I got to the airport, I was starving and thirsty, so as soon as I checked my bag, I bought an enormously expensive Coke and a donut and bolted them. About the time I had to step in the scanner and get cancered, the caffeine and sugar was kicking in so much I was shaky. It's a wonder I wasn't disappeared for appearing nervous. I was so relieved when I got through security without being arrested that I stopped at Starbucks and got a vanilla bean frappuccino, but the idiot barista added--ick--coffee. Vanilla means no coffee! It's practically the only drink on the Starbucks menu without coffee. I'm drinking it anyway (good thing I have Tic-Tacs to combat coffee breath) and the caffeine is surging through my system. They could use me to power the entire airport until my flight leaves. Hell, I could just run to Chicago in time to catch my connecting flight.
I have over an hour to wait. They'd probably object to my climbing up to hang from the skylights, so I guess I'll just sit here and vibrate and pop Tic-Tacs.
<--Vancouver from the ship
August 16, 2012
about 7:30 pm (Chicago time)
Pizza for supper. I bought some gummis. The little bag was $4.29 and as I was checking out the cashier said, "They're four-twenty-nine," in a warning voice. I told her if I'd neglected to bring candy with me I deserved to have to overpay for it at the airport. She didn't laugh.
On my flight up I sat beside the guy who bicycled with his wife and three daughters from Kentucky to Alaska about a decade ago. I vaguely remember hearing about it on the news. He told me about it when I told him I was going to Alaska, and he was the one who started the "where are you headed?" conversation. I don't typically talk to people. Ever.
There was a lot of turbulence during our flight. I had to fight the almost overwhelming urge to giggle and squeal. It really does feel like a roller coaster. The world's most expensive (and awesome) roller coaster.
August 17, 2012
1 am Vancouver time
4 am Tennessee time OMG
Made it! I had to fight a girl for my seat by the window. She had parked herself in it and spread 4,000 items about her person, including an enormous salad she was sitting there eating while I blocked traffic down the aisle and snarled at her. It took her forever to move into her actual seat, right next to me. She did apologize (and later, when we were descending into Vancouver with the lights spread out below like a fairy blanket, she said wistfully, "Is it pretty?", which made me feel a teeny bit guilty).
The flight was uneventful and seemed very long although it was only about four hours. I read some and tried to doze some and mostly looked out MY window at the stars and the lights and the pale haze above the horizon that in places seemed to climb into the sky in nearly invisible columns of gray.
I got the first stamp in my new passport, and this is the first time I have been to Canada. I hope we have a little time to explore in the morning.
Now a shower for me and bed. This is a really nice hotel.
August 17, 2012
6:30 am
I tried to sleep later, but woke at 6am. That's nine my time, and for me that's sleeping late. Richard [my brother] said we might meet around 7 or 7:30, so I have time to kill since I'm all ready to go except for my shoes.
The first thing I did when I got up was look out the window. The OCEAN is out there! Seagulls are flying around instead of pigeons!
I'm eating the gummis I forgot about yesterday. Maybe I'll read for an hour.
August 17, 2012
about 1pm
I am on a SHIP! We have embarked although we won't leave shore until around four, I think. I am sitting on our little deck and can feel the ship rocking very gently. Only time will tell if I get seasick.
about 5pm
We are underway! We went under a bridge! Tara [my sister-in-law] got glasses of wine to toast to the cruise and to departing Vancouver. We're sitting on our little deck now, watching the land slide by. The sea rushes in foamy swells from the ship and I can hear the music faintly from where they're dancing around the pool. I'm not sure if I'm feeling swimmy-headed from the ship's motion, my lack of sleep, or the wine. Maybe all of them.
8:15 pm
I am going to gain one million pounds on this cruise. I will say no more about supper.
I showered once we got back to the room, and changed into capris. Now I'm full and comfy and sleepy, and the sun is not even down. Tara is reading on our little balcony, I'm here with her, and the two younger boys have the binoculars and are debating the merits of various speedboats visible from the ship.
Tara wants to go to a documentary about Alaska at 9pm. It's poolside so I don't have to worry about my hair being wet. I just hope I don't fall asleep.
We're in deep water here and it looks almost black next to the ship. The sun is setting behind the hills--so much craggier than the ones at home.
August 18, 2012
about 6:15 am
"Early bird" breakfast means coffee and tea, not food. I am slurping down tea and waiting for a food place to open. Tara elected to sleep in, not to my surprise. She was worn out, and I'm more of a morning person than she is. It's foggy this morning. Tara said (in a creaky morning voice), "I've never been on a ship where it wasn't foggy in the mornings." This is her third cruise.
Hey, there's a clock. It's almost 6:20 am. The foghorn keeps sounding, just like something out of a movie. The dining room where I'm sitting, waiting for food, is open at its far end where the pool is. The air rushing in is cold and salty, and tendrils of mist wisp toward me until they dissolve in the blasts of heated air. The floor is wet. I can still see the ocean sliding by, although I'm up on deck 11 so I can't see it very well from here.
Man, am I hungry. 6:25. I think they're going to bring out some food at 6:30. The big buffet restaurant opens at seven, but I don't know if I can make it that long without toast.
More tea, please.
August 18, 2012
9am
Tara came to find me before I had my second tea, and we went for breakfast once it opened. I ate one of everything I could fit on my plate. Then we went to the gym and worked out, which is probably a good thing although now I really have a headache. I should have had that second tea after all.
about 2:15 pm
I put my new [fountain] pen together, the one I bought in Vancouver. It's gorgeous.
The boat was rolling a bit earlier and Richard and the kids were feeling a bit seasick. They are all doped up on Dramamine now. I took Tylenol for my headache and feel better too, but I had a light lunch. Comparatively speaking.
Tonight is the first formal dinner. Tara and I looked at the menu and have already decided what we will order. I'm getting the duck, which is mostly why I didn't have much lunch.
I've discovered that I love strolling around outside on deck 5, which is the lowest deck where you can actually go outside. It's chilly and damp down there so I mostly have it to myself. I keep taking photos of the bow waves and our wake. Tara pointed out that I'm going to end up deleting most of my pictures. [She was right.]
August 18, 2012
9:30 pm
We saw WHALES. Or orcas [actually they were probably humpbacks] which are, I think, a type of dolphin rather than a whale. We saw a lot of them and Tara got some pictures, or at least she did after she appropriated my camera's memory card. She'd forgotten hers and my camera was refusing to focus when I zoomed in. Teamwork! She made me promise to email her the pix after we get home.
August 19, 2012
6am
We are sailing alongside land, possibly islands. It's only a little foggy this morning, so I can see the low hills very closely, craggy with pine trees, and glimpses of higher hills beyond. And there are lights in the distance. People live here.
I love early mornings by myself. I tried hard not to wake Tara when I got up and dressed, but the way I was thumping around she was probably wide awake but too polite to say so. [She was. I woke her up every single morning.]
I have my tea and I'm waiting for breakfast to open or for someone I know to show up and say hi. No headache this morning, no queasiness. Richard has a supply of Dramamine and ginger products so big he could set up a drugstore in his stateroom. I have a ginger chew he gave me yesterday in my pocket. He says he eats them all the time--like, constantly, the way other people chew gum. They're good, but lordie, not that good.
August 19, 2012
about 7:30 am
I never thought I'd eat grits in Alaska. They're not bad, though.
3:45 pm
We went on our first excursion today, a canoe trip and little nature walk in Ketchikan. It was fun, and the foggy, gray weather turned abruptly warm and sunny while we were out, giving us a brilliant view of some mountains with streaks of snow at their summits. From the water of the small lake, we could smell the cold, clean scent of evergreens that climb the steep sides of the mountains.
I bought a brown fleece jacket with a bear stitched on it, which is snuggly warm and which is probably why it turned so warm out. But even with the sun out, the breeze has a snap to it that feels more like early spring to me than late summer.
We saw a bald eagle and found a book store.
August 20, 2012
4:50 am
I thought it was closer to 6am and got up and dressed and slipped out to drink tea and wait for breakfast. Imagine my surprise. No wonder I'm still so sleepy, but the tea and coffee things are already set up so at least I can get some caffeine down.
We go ziplining today. I probably want to be over-caffeinated for that.
It's light, which is why I thought it was closer to six, but only just. After I finish my tea, I'm going to walk around on deck and take pictures. A lot of the mountains here have snow on them. I am all snuggled up in my brown bear jacket. Best $15 I ever spent.
August 20, 2012
9am
We're stopped at the port where we go on the zipline. It's strung up above the hills like a radio tower guywire. There's three lines [actually it turned out to be six] so we can all three go at the same time and race. In honor of that #3, I ate three breakfasts. Hobbits are amateurs.
There's no dock for cruise ships here, so we'll have to cross to land in little boats. Tara told me the name of the boats but I can't remember it. All I can think of is 'trebuchet' and 'punter,' which are just random words.
No, wait. They're called tenders. Makes me think of chicken.
August 20, 2012
1:30 pm
The zipline. OMG, the zipline! It was co cool.
We rode up to the top of the mountain in a bus, and the driver told us some stuff about the town and places we were passing. The ride was about 45 minutes and he stopped once so we could take pictures out the windows. From what he said, the zipline is owned by the Tlingits (pronounced sort of like Klinkits) and has brought a lot of prosperity to the village. The bus driver said that he was one of the village elders, and told us the traditional greeting to visitors and how he would introduce himself to them. Then he let us all out at the top of the mountain and we walked down a short distance to the zipline launching pad or whatever it's called. There was one poor lady who got scared and decided she couldn't do it, and when she found out the bus had already started back down and she couldn't catch a ride with him, she got kind of hysterical. I felt sorry for her. I wished I could reassure her that the scared only lasts briefly but the awesome remains forever.
Richard, I. [my oldest nephew; I'll be referring to my nephews by their initials], and I were among the six who went down on the very first trip. They strapped us in, had us put our feet on the wooden door thingie in front of us, gave a quick 3-2-1 countdown--and we were gone. The door dropped and we fell off the mountain and rode all the way down in 90 seconds. I screamed, but it was a lot of fun too--and beautiful. I had my camera but the first thing I did was accidentally turn it off, and it took me a few seconds to get it back on. I did take some pictures, though.
I bought a black hoodie that says "Icy Strait Pointe, Hoonah, Alaska," which is of course where we are. About half a dozen people, mostly strangers, have pointed out that I paid too much. $35 is not too much for a nice warm hoodie that's also a souvenir, plus I think the profits may go to the village so I don't mind paying a bit extra.
Tomorrow we go to Juneau and I will probably buy a tote bag, if I can find one. I need it since I am constantly dragging my spiral notebook around with me and one day I'll drop it overboard if I'm not careful.
<--My brother, obviously, not my six-year-old nephew, who is a bit smaller than that
August 21, 2012
5am
My six-year-old nephew climbed all the way to the top of the climbing wall yesterday and rang the bell. It was unreal--he took off just like a gecko. Richard was the next person to climb and also rang the bell, but his accomplishment was a bit overshadowed by M's.
Today Richard and I go on a hike together, which will be fun. I am already wearing my hiking boots.
Obviously I don't have a lot to say since I'm sitting here staring out the window at the long silhouette of a ridge sliding by against the dim sky. It's bristly with fir trees. The water is placid, barely rippled.
Despite me taking forever and a half cup of tea to write this, it's still only 5:07. Breakfast opens at six. I guess I'll finish my tea and go walking around out on deck. Maybe I'll see a whale.
August 21, 2012
about 6:30 am
I have finished breakfast, although if today is anything like yesterday I will return for more when Tara arrives to eat, and possibly more again with Richard and the kids.
This is what I ate just now--I finished everything but the scrambled eggs:
1 poached egg
scoop of scrambled eggs with tiny shrimps
2 pieces bacon
grits with butter
English muffin (small) with butter
1/2 piece French toast with strawberries
small raspberry danish
small slice of bread with berries that I can't identify
orange juice
tea
In future days, when I'm back to eating a bowl of Wheat Chex with almond milk for breakfast, I will look at that enormous list with awe. And irritation, since it's going to take a while to drop the weight I'm gaining. And this doesn't even include the fruit I'll probably get later, along with another slice of the mystery berry bread.
I ought to leave the rest of my tea and go down to see the dinner menu for tonight. At least it will get me out of the cafe and its enormous buffet that never ends.
August 21, 2012
about 6:40 am
2 sliced half-peaches
2 chunks pineapple
2 chunks watermelon
small piece mystery berry bread
August 21, 2012
3pm
The hike was excellent, although my feet are tired. It's gorgeous around here, lush and stark at once. This is technically a rain forest and everything is covered in moss. It's spongy underfoot and hangs from trees. In some places there is so much moss on everything that it doesn't look like a scene from Earth--surely it's Venus or Degobah or the holodeck. The mountainsides are steep, and exposed rock is scraped from the passage of glaciers thousands of years ago. The glacier here--which I've forgotten the name of [Mendenhall]--fills a valley, with its blue feet in a lake 200 feet deep. Icebergs drift along like fairy boats.
My camera batteries died halfway through the hike. Of course.
After we got back, Richard and I had a few minutes to ourselves in Juneau. I bought fresh batteries, postcard stamps, a paperback, and a candy bar. Oh, and a tote bag so I can carry my notebook around in the mornings without having to stuff it in my waistband to free my hands.
Tara went off shopping by herself and the two younger kids are in a supervised activity (Richard's just gone to pick them up). So when we got back to the ship, Richard and I went to lunch, with I. along to keep us company although he'd already eaten. While we (mostly me) were stuffing ourselves, our waiter from the nice restaurant in the evenings noticed us and said hello. I didn't realize he had to work lunch too. I feel guilty for complaining that my feet hurt from my hike when Sathish [I think I'm misspelling his name] works every single day cleaning up after me and bringing me food. I hope they pay him well and that he actually gets the tip I'm going to leave him instead of the cruise company keeping most of it.
August 21, 2012
9:10 pm
Venison for supper. REALLY. It was excellent. I started with smoked duck, and it was perfect wiht pieces of candied walnuts. After the venison, I got the chocolate-whiskey-raisin cake, which came with vanilla ice cream. I ate it all, and our server brought me the maple pudding too because he said he didn't want me to miss it, and it came with more ice cream, and it tasted like the best pancake with syrup EVER and I ate most of it. At that point I started to wonder if the kitchen staff was taking bets to see if I'd finish it or if I'd explode. I pictured them in the back, saying, "Give her more ice cream. See if she'll eat it." So I quit eating and waddled back to the stateroom.
August 22, 2012
4:50 am
It's not even light yet. Why am I up?
Today Tara and I go on a horseback ride in Skagway while Richard takes the boys to see husky puppies. This is the last port of call and our last excursion. Tomorrow we sail by some big glacier but we don't stop.
Tara and I were talking about going for breakfast in the nice dining room today instead of the buffet. I think she is trying to save me from myself.
August 22, 2012
7:30 am
Tara still felt full from last night, so she didn't want a big breakfast. Amateur. So I had my usual too-much breakfast. It's still drizzling slightly and fog has rolled in, so thick we can't even see the other cruise ships nearby.
<--Tara is on the black horse, I'm on the bay
3:30 pm
The fog mostly lifted before our horseback riding trip, although it rained. I didn't mind. Tara had never been on a horse before and was nervous. I hadn't been on a horse in 25 years and was nervous. I was put on a horse called Moose and Tara on a horse named Spike. Moose and Spike were best buddies, which was fortunate because Spike was really slow so Moose kept crowding him--so much so that he actually rubbed his cheek against Spike's rump to scratch an itch at one point. Moose also kept farting. Moose the farting horse.
Tara did great. I acknowledge that I have forgotten most of what I ever knew about riding. Maybe I'll sign up for lessons somewhere when I get home.
The ship will be moving away from Skagway in about half an hour, which means the cruise is almost over.
August 22, 2012
9:30 pm
I got chicken tonight although it was lobster night. Tara let me taste her lobster and I'm glad I got the chicken, because apparently I don't like lobster.
Tonight at 11pm they have a special chocolate dealie. I'm not sure I can stay awake another hour and a half, though, even for chocolate. Tara's staying up because I.'s curfew is 11:30 and she can't fall asleep until he's back.
It's cold and windy and rainy out. We have a lot of ocean to cover to reach Hubbard Glacier by morning, so we're racing along. Apparently two people never made it back from today's stop at Skagway. When they didn't show, their passports were left on shore and the ship left without them. I bet they're having a rotten day.
August 23, 2012
5:35 am
Last night Tara and I managed to stay up until 11pm and went to the chocolate thing. They had ice sculptures lit up with colored lights, and melons carved into ships with spoons for oars, and cakes decorated with fruit and chips of chocolate, and every delicious, fanciful thing. We filled out plates, sat down, and Tara took maybe three bites before sliding hers away and saying, "I don't need this." Then she sat there looking desperately tired while I crammed cake in my face.
We both agreed to sleep late this morning. And we did! When we both stirred and raised our heads to look outside--she did first, which woke me too--it was 5:30 am instead of 4:45.
I think I may be able to sleep on the plane tomorrow night.
Tara went back to sleep, or said she was going to try. I really enjoy my quiet mornings on the ship so I went ahead and got dressed. My jeans are too filthy to wear and my slacks don't have pockets, so I'm wearing capris. Thin cotton capris. Because before I got here, my brain simply could not fathom true cold in August.
It's getting light out. The sea is calm with swells that rock the ship gently side to side. I hardly notice the ship's motion anymore, although in Juneau and Skagway both I felt occasionally that the ground was moving underfoot like a ship. I guess I have my sea legs, or I'm just crazy.
August 23, 2012
11:15 am
Richard and I took M with us to the nice restaurant, Cascades, for breakfast. We were sailing near the Hubbard Glacier then and got to see a yellow boat full of crewmembers manhandling a chunk of iceberg onboard. I got pictures. They put it up on deck 11 for people to examine, and they'll make an ice sculpture out of it tonight. They think of everything.
I've spent most of the morning outside on deck, except when I was eating exquisite French toast at breakfast. Tara was with me a big part of the time. When we went down to deck five around 7am, we stopped first at the dinner menu near the door out. I made my selection right away, pumpkin soup, roast turkey, and key lime pie, and was ready to go on out and look at the glacier filling the horizon. But Tara was still studying the menu. She said, "Some decisions are important and shouldn't be rushed."
The glacier is immense. The water near it is full of icebergs, large and small, and as the ship moves through them they slap and crackle in the water like an enormous bowl of Rice Krispies. The glacier several times made a noise just like thunder, booming as it cracked somewhere inside. I saw the spray and big wave as the glacier calved an iceberg, but I didn't see the ice fall.
It's so desolate here, cold and empty. Tara says it's like the end of the world. The ship turned around and crept its way back through the rattling icebergs, and now we're back in the open ocean headed for Seward, Alaska and the end of our cruise.
August 23, 2012
8:15 pm
I was going to take a much-needed shower but N has a strange genius of knowing when I'm about to go into our bathroom and rushes in to grab it. So I'm waiting, since he's in there singing. Sounds like he'll be a while.
My stuff is all packed up and ready to go. Dinner tonight was underwhelming--turkey that tasted like it came from a school lunchroom--so I'm not over-full. I'm thinking about my cat and my yard and how I will need to get groceries when I get home.
Tomorrow we have to be up and out by 6:10 am in order to catch our train to Anchorage, where we fly out tomorrow evening. The train will be an adventure: I love trains, and the scenery is supposed to be spectacular.
The waves are still high, rolling the ship along. This afternoon it rained and got very choppy, but now fog is blowing in. I saw two whales earlier, but the ship is going so fast I couldn't get a picture before we'd passed them by.
August 24, 2012
7am
We're on a train! It's moving!
4:50 pm
Richard and Tara and the boys are in line to board their flight. My flight doesn't leave for another four hours. Really. And then I fly to Houston, arrive about 6am, and fly to Knoxville (I even just writing Knoxville) to arrive around 1pm tomorrow. It's gonna be a long night. [I didn't get any sleep at all.]
They are gone onto the plane. Vacation is over. There's nothing left to do except go home.
The trip was marvelous. I kept a travel journal, so I'll just transcribe what I wrote and put some pictures in. (I'd include pix of my nephews, but my brother and sister-in-law probably don't want me to plaster their kids all over the internet, so I won't.) Occasionally I'll add a comment in brackets. Warning: this will be long--but, I hope, entertaining.
3pm
When I got to the airport, I was starving and thirsty, so as soon as I checked my bag, I bought an enormously expensive Coke and a donut and bolted them. About the time I had to step in the scanner and get cancered, the caffeine and sugar was kicking in so much I was shaky. It's a wonder I wasn't disappeared for appearing nervous. I was so relieved when I got through security without being arrested that I stopped at Starbucks and got a vanilla bean frappuccino, but the idiot barista added--ick--coffee. Vanilla means no coffee! It's practically the only drink on the Starbucks menu without coffee. I'm drinking it anyway (good thing I have Tic-Tacs to combat coffee breath) and the caffeine is surging through my system. They could use me to power the entire airport until my flight leaves. Hell, I could just run to Chicago in time to catch my connecting flight.
I have over an hour to wait. They'd probably object to my climbing up to hang from the skylights, so I guess I'll just sit here and vibrate and pop Tic-Tacs.
August 16, 2012
about 7:30 pm (Chicago time)
Pizza for supper. I bought some gummis. The little bag was $4.29 and as I was checking out the cashier said, "They're four-twenty-nine," in a warning voice. I told her if I'd neglected to bring candy with me I deserved to have to overpay for it at the airport. She didn't laugh.
On my flight up I sat beside the guy who bicycled with his wife and three daughters from Kentucky to Alaska about a decade ago. I vaguely remember hearing about it on the news. He told me about it when I told him I was going to Alaska, and he was the one who started the "where are you headed?" conversation. I don't typically talk to people. Ever.
There was a lot of turbulence during our flight. I had to fight the almost overwhelming urge to giggle and squeal. It really does feel like a roller coaster. The world's most expensive (and awesome) roller coaster.
1 am Vancouver time
4 am Tennessee time OMG
Made it! I had to fight a girl for my seat by the window. She had parked herself in it and spread 4,000 items about her person, including an enormous salad she was sitting there eating while I blocked traffic down the aisle and snarled at her. It took her forever to move into her actual seat, right next to me. She did apologize (and later, when we were descending into Vancouver with the lights spread out below like a fairy blanket, she said wistfully, "Is it pretty?", which made me feel a teeny bit guilty).
The flight was uneventful and seemed very long although it was only about four hours. I read some and tried to doze some and mostly looked out MY window at the stars and the lights and the pale haze above the horizon that in places seemed to climb into the sky in nearly invisible columns of gray.
I got the first stamp in my new passport, and this is the first time I have been to Canada. I hope we have a little time to explore in the morning.
Now a shower for me and bed. This is a really nice hotel.
6:30 am
I tried to sleep later, but woke at 6am. That's nine my time, and for me that's sleeping late. Richard [my brother] said we might meet around 7 or 7:30, so I have time to kill since I'm all ready to go except for my shoes.
The first thing I did when I got up was look out the window. The OCEAN is out there! Seagulls are flying around instead of pigeons!
I'm eating the gummis I forgot about yesterday. Maybe I'll read for an hour.
August 17, 2012
about 1pm
I am on a SHIP! We have embarked although we won't leave shore until around four, I think. I am sitting on our little deck and can feel the ship rocking very gently. Only time will tell if I get seasick.
about 5pm
We are underway! We went under a bridge! Tara [my sister-in-law] got glasses of wine to toast to the cruise and to departing Vancouver. We're sitting on our little deck now, watching the land slide by. The sea rushes in foamy swells from the ship and I can hear the music faintly from where they're dancing around the pool. I'm not sure if I'm feeling swimmy-headed from the ship's motion, my lack of sleep, or the wine. Maybe all of them.
I am going to gain one million pounds on this cruise. I will say no more about supper.
I showered once we got back to the room, and changed into capris. Now I'm full and comfy and sleepy, and the sun is not even down. Tara is reading on our little balcony, I'm here with her, and the two younger boys have the binoculars and are debating the merits of various speedboats visible from the ship.
Tara wants to go to a documentary about Alaska at 9pm. It's poolside so I don't have to worry about my hair being wet. I just hope I don't fall asleep.
We're in deep water here and it looks almost black next to the ship. The sun is setting behind the hills--so much craggier than the ones at home.
about 6:15 am
"Early bird" breakfast means coffee and tea, not food. I am slurping down tea and waiting for a food place to open. Tara elected to sleep in, not to my surprise. She was worn out, and I'm more of a morning person than she is. It's foggy this morning. Tara said (in a creaky morning voice), "I've never been on a ship where it wasn't foggy in the mornings." This is her third cruise.
Hey, there's a clock. It's almost 6:20 am. The foghorn keeps sounding, just like something out of a movie. The dining room where I'm sitting, waiting for food, is open at its far end where the pool is. The air rushing in is cold and salty, and tendrils of mist wisp toward me until they dissolve in the blasts of heated air. The floor is wet. I can still see the ocean sliding by, although I'm up on deck 11 so I can't see it very well from here.
Man, am I hungry. 6:25. I think they're going to bring out some food at 6:30. The big buffet restaurant opens at seven, but I don't know if I can make it that long without toast.
More tea, please.
August 18, 2012
9am
Tara came to find me before I had my second tea, and we went for breakfast once it opened. I ate one of everything I could fit on my plate. Then we went to the gym and worked out, which is probably a good thing although now I really have a headache. I should have had that second tea after all.
I put my new [fountain] pen together, the one I bought in Vancouver. It's gorgeous.
The boat was rolling a bit earlier and Richard and the kids were feeling a bit seasick. They are all doped up on Dramamine now. I took Tylenol for my headache and feel better too, but I had a light lunch. Comparatively speaking.
Tonight is the first formal dinner. Tara and I looked at the menu and have already decided what we will order. I'm getting the duck, which is mostly why I didn't have much lunch.
I've discovered that I love strolling around outside on deck 5, which is the lowest deck where you can actually go outside. It's chilly and damp down there so I mostly have it to myself. I keep taking photos of the bow waves and our wake. Tara pointed out that I'm going to end up deleting most of my pictures. [She was right.]
9:30 pm
We saw WHALES. Or orcas [actually they were probably humpbacks] which are, I think, a type of dolphin rather than a whale. We saw a lot of them and Tara got some pictures, or at least she did after she appropriated my camera's memory card. She'd forgotten hers and my camera was refusing to focus when I zoomed in. Teamwork! She made me promise to email her the pix after we get home.
Tonight was formal dress for dinner. I forgot to take pictures, but the boys were so adorable dressed up. I had oxtail soup, duck, and berry pudding. I feel kind of sick from too much rich food. I have no one to blame but myself.
6am
We are sailing alongside land, possibly islands. It's only a little foggy this morning, so I can see the low hills very closely, craggy with pine trees, and glimpses of higher hills beyond. And there are lights in the distance. People live here.
I love early mornings by myself. I tried hard not to wake Tara when I got up and dressed, but the way I was thumping around she was probably wide awake but too polite to say so. [She was. I woke her up every single morning.]
I have my tea and I'm waiting for breakfast to open or for someone I know to show up and say hi. No headache this morning, no queasiness. Richard has a supply of Dramamine and ginger products so big he could set up a drugstore in his stateroom. I have a ginger chew he gave me yesterday in my pocket. He says he eats them all the time--like, constantly, the way other people chew gum. They're good, but lordie, not that good.
August 19, 2012
about 7:30 am
I never thought I'd eat grits in Alaska. They're not bad, though.
We went on our first excursion today, a canoe trip and little nature walk in Ketchikan. It was fun, and the foggy, gray weather turned abruptly warm and sunny while we were out, giving us a brilliant view of some mountains with streaks of snow at their summits. From the water of the small lake, we could smell the cold, clean scent of evergreens that climb the steep sides of the mountains.
I bought a brown fleece jacket with a bear stitched on it, which is snuggly warm and which is probably why it turned so warm out. But even with the sun out, the breeze has a snap to it that feels more like early spring to me than late summer.
We saw a bald eagle and found a book store.
4:50 am
I thought it was closer to 6am and got up and dressed and slipped out to drink tea and wait for breakfast. Imagine my surprise. No wonder I'm still so sleepy, but the tea and coffee things are already set up so at least I can get some caffeine down.
We go ziplining today. I probably want to be over-caffeinated for that.
It's light, which is why I thought it was closer to six, but only just. After I finish my tea, I'm going to walk around on deck and take pictures. A lot of the mountains here have snow on them. I am all snuggled up in my brown bear jacket. Best $15 I ever spent.
August 20, 2012
9am
We're stopped at the port where we go on the zipline. It's strung up above the hills like a radio tower guywire. There's three lines [actually it turned out to be six] so we can all three go at the same time and race. In honor of that #3, I ate three breakfasts. Hobbits are amateurs.
There's no dock for cruise ships here, so we'll have to cross to land in little boats. Tara told me the name of the boats but I can't remember it. All I can think of is 'trebuchet' and 'punter,' which are just random words.
No, wait. They're called tenders. Makes me think of chicken.
1:30 pm
The zipline. OMG, the zipline! It was co cool.
We rode up to the top of the mountain in a bus, and the driver told us some stuff about the town and places we were passing. The ride was about 45 minutes and he stopped once so we could take pictures out the windows. From what he said, the zipline is owned by the Tlingits (pronounced sort of like Klinkits) and has brought a lot of prosperity to the village. The bus driver said that he was one of the village elders, and told us the traditional greeting to visitors and how he would introduce himself to them. Then he let us all out at the top of the mountain and we walked down a short distance to the zipline launching pad or whatever it's called. There was one poor lady who got scared and decided she couldn't do it, and when she found out the bus had already started back down and she couldn't catch a ride with him, she got kind of hysterical. I felt sorry for her. I wished I could reassure her that the scared only lasts briefly but the awesome remains forever.
Richard, I. [my oldest nephew; I'll be referring to my nephews by their initials], and I were among the six who went down on the very first trip. They strapped us in, had us put our feet on the wooden door thingie in front of us, gave a quick 3-2-1 countdown--and we were gone. The door dropped and we fell off the mountain and rode all the way down in 90 seconds. I screamed, but it was a lot of fun too--and beautiful. I had my camera but the first thing I did was accidentally turn it off, and it took me a few seconds to get it back on. I did take some pictures, though.
I bought a black hoodie that says "Icy Strait Pointe, Hoonah, Alaska," which is of course where we are. About half a dozen people, mostly strangers, have pointed out that I paid too much. $35 is not too much for a nice warm hoodie that's also a souvenir, plus I think the profits may go to the village so I don't mind paying a bit extra.
Tomorrow we go to Juneau and I will probably buy a tote bag, if I can find one. I need it since I am constantly dragging my spiral notebook around with me and one day I'll drop it overboard if I'm not careful.
August 21, 2012
5am
My six-year-old nephew climbed all the way to the top of the climbing wall yesterday and rang the bell. It was unreal--he took off just like a gecko. Richard was the next person to climb and also rang the bell, but his accomplishment was a bit overshadowed by M's.
Today Richard and I go on a hike together, which will be fun. I am already wearing my hiking boots.
Obviously I don't have a lot to say since I'm sitting here staring out the window at the long silhouette of a ridge sliding by against the dim sky. It's bristly with fir trees. The water is placid, barely rippled.
Despite me taking forever and a half cup of tea to write this, it's still only 5:07. Breakfast opens at six. I guess I'll finish my tea and go walking around out on deck. Maybe I'll see a whale.
August 21, 2012
about 6:30 am
I have finished breakfast, although if today is anything like yesterday I will return for more when Tara arrives to eat, and possibly more again with Richard and the kids.
This is what I ate just now--I finished everything but the scrambled eggs:
1 poached egg
scoop of scrambled eggs with tiny shrimps
2 pieces bacon
grits with butter
English muffin (small) with butter
1/2 piece French toast with strawberries
small raspberry danish
small slice of bread with berries that I can't identify
orange juice
tea
In future days, when I'm back to eating a bowl of Wheat Chex with almond milk for breakfast, I will look at that enormous list with awe. And irritation, since it's going to take a while to drop the weight I'm gaining. And this doesn't even include the fruit I'll probably get later, along with another slice of the mystery berry bread.
I ought to leave the rest of my tea and go down to see the dinner menu for tonight. At least it will get me out of the cafe and its enormous buffet that never ends.
August 21, 2012
about 6:40 am
2 sliced half-peaches
2 chunks pineapple
2 chunks watermelon
small piece mystery berry bread
3pm
The hike was excellent, although my feet are tired. It's gorgeous around here, lush and stark at once. This is technically a rain forest and everything is covered in moss. It's spongy underfoot and hangs from trees. In some places there is so much moss on everything that it doesn't look like a scene from Earth--surely it's Venus or Degobah or the holodeck. The mountainsides are steep, and exposed rock is scraped from the passage of glaciers thousands of years ago. The glacier here--which I've forgotten the name of [Mendenhall]--fills a valley, with its blue feet in a lake 200 feet deep. Icebergs drift along like fairy boats.
My camera batteries died halfway through the hike. Of course.
After we got back, Richard and I had a few minutes to ourselves in Juneau. I bought fresh batteries, postcard stamps, a paperback, and a candy bar. Oh, and a tote bag so I can carry my notebook around in the mornings without having to stuff it in my waistband to free my hands.
Tara went off shopping by herself and the two younger kids are in a supervised activity (Richard's just gone to pick them up). So when we got back to the ship, Richard and I went to lunch, with I. along to keep us company although he'd already eaten. While we (mostly me) were stuffing ourselves, our waiter from the nice restaurant in the evenings noticed us and said hello. I didn't realize he had to work lunch too. I feel guilty for complaining that my feet hurt from my hike when Sathish [I think I'm misspelling his name] works every single day cleaning up after me and bringing me food. I hope they pay him well and that he actually gets the tip I'm going to leave him instead of the cruise company keeping most of it.
9:10 pm
Venison for supper. REALLY. It was excellent. I started with smoked duck, and it was perfect wiht pieces of candied walnuts. After the venison, I got the chocolate-whiskey-raisin cake, which came with vanilla ice cream. I ate it all, and our server brought me the maple pudding too because he said he didn't want me to miss it, and it came with more ice cream, and it tasted like the best pancake with syrup EVER and I ate most of it. At that point I started to wonder if the kitchen staff was taking bets to see if I'd finish it or if I'd explode. I pictured them in the back, saying, "Give her more ice cream. See if she'll eat it." So I quit eating and waddled back to the stateroom.
4:50 am
It's not even light yet. Why am I up?
Today Tara and I go on a horseback ride in Skagway while Richard takes the boys to see husky puppies. This is the last port of call and our last excursion. Tomorrow we sail by some big glacier but we don't stop.
Tara and I were talking about going for breakfast in the nice dining room today instead of the buffet. I think she is trying to save me from myself.
August 22, 2012
7:30 am
Tara still felt full from last night, so she didn't want a big breakfast. Amateur. So I had my usual too-much breakfast. It's still drizzling slightly and fog has rolled in, so thick we can't even see the other cruise ships nearby.
3:30 pm
The fog mostly lifted before our horseback riding trip, although it rained. I didn't mind. Tara had never been on a horse before and was nervous. I hadn't been on a horse in 25 years and was nervous. I was put on a horse called Moose and Tara on a horse named Spike. Moose and Spike were best buddies, which was fortunate because Spike was really slow so Moose kept crowding him--so much so that he actually rubbed his cheek against Spike's rump to scratch an itch at one point. Moose also kept farting. Moose the farting horse.
Tara did great. I acknowledge that I have forgotten most of what I ever knew about riding. Maybe I'll sign up for lessons somewhere when I get home.
The ship will be moving away from Skagway in about half an hour, which means the cruise is almost over.
August 22, 2012
9:30 pm
I got chicken tonight although it was lobster night. Tara let me taste her lobster and I'm glad I got the chicken, because apparently I don't like lobster.
Tonight at 11pm they have a special chocolate dealie. I'm not sure I can stay awake another hour and a half, though, even for chocolate. Tara's staying up because I.'s curfew is 11:30 and she can't fall asleep until he's back.
It's cold and windy and rainy out. We have a lot of ocean to cover to reach Hubbard Glacier by morning, so we're racing along. Apparently two people never made it back from today's stop at Skagway. When they didn't show, their passports were left on shore and the ship left without them. I bet they're having a rotten day.
5:35 am
Last night Tara and I managed to stay up until 11pm and went to the chocolate thing. They had ice sculptures lit up with colored lights, and melons carved into ships with spoons for oars, and cakes decorated with fruit and chips of chocolate, and every delicious, fanciful thing. We filled out plates, sat down, and Tara took maybe three bites before sliding hers away and saying, "I don't need this." Then she sat there looking desperately tired while I crammed cake in my face.
We both agreed to sleep late this morning. And we did! When we both stirred and raised our heads to look outside--she did first, which woke me too--it was 5:30 am instead of 4:45.
I think I may be able to sleep on the plane tomorrow night.
Tara went back to sleep, or said she was going to try. I really enjoy my quiet mornings on the ship so I went ahead and got dressed. My jeans are too filthy to wear and my slacks don't have pockets, so I'm wearing capris. Thin cotton capris. Because before I got here, my brain simply could not fathom true cold in August.
It's getting light out. The sea is calm with swells that rock the ship gently side to side. I hardly notice the ship's motion anymore, although in Juneau and Skagway both I felt occasionally that the ground was moving underfoot like a ship. I guess I have my sea legs, or I'm just crazy.
11:15 am
Richard and I took M with us to the nice restaurant, Cascades, for breakfast. We were sailing near the Hubbard Glacier then and got to see a yellow boat full of crewmembers manhandling a chunk of iceberg onboard. I got pictures. They put it up on deck 11 for people to examine, and they'll make an ice sculpture out of it tonight. They think of everything.
I've spent most of the morning outside on deck, except when I was eating exquisite French toast at breakfast. Tara was with me a big part of the time. When we went down to deck five around 7am, we stopped first at the dinner menu near the door out. I made my selection right away, pumpkin soup, roast turkey, and key lime pie, and was ready to go on out and look at the glacier filling the horizon. But Tara was still studying the menu. She said, "Some decisions are important and shouldn't be rushed."
The glacier is immense. The water near it is full of icebergs, large and small, and as the ship moves through them they slap and crackle in the water like an enormous bowl of Rice Krispies. The glacier several times made a noise just like thunder, booming as it cracked somewhere inside. I saw the spray and big wave as the glacier calved an iceberg, but I didn't see the ice fall.
It's so desolate here, cold and empty. Tara says it's like the end of the world. The ship turned around and crept its way back through the rattling icebergs, and now we're back in the open ocean headed for Seward, Alaska and the end of our cruise.
8:15 pm
I was going to take a much-needed shower but N has a strange genius of knowing when I'm about to go into our bathroom and rushes in to grab it. So I'm waiting, since he's in there singing. Sounds like he'll be a while.
My stuff is all packed up and ready to go. Dinner tonight was underwhelming--turkey that tasted like it came from a school lunchroom--so I'm not over-full. I'm thinking about my cat and my yard and how I will need to get groceries when I get home.
Tomorrow we have to be up and out by 6:10 am in order to catch our train to Anchorage, where we fly out tomorrow evening. The train will be an adventure: I love trains, and the scenery is supposed to be spectacular.
The waves are still high, rolling the ship along. This afternoon it rained and got very choppy, but now fog is blowing in. I saw two whales earlier, but the ship is going so fast I couldn't get a picture before we'd passed them by.
7am
We're on a train! It's moving!
4:50 pm
Richard and Tara and the boys are in line to board their flight. My flight doesn't leave for another four hours. Really. And then I fly to Houston, arrive about 6am, and fly to Knoxville (I even just writing Knoxville) to arrive around 1pm tomorrow. It's gonna be a long night. [I didn't get any sleep at all.]
They are gone onto the plane. Vacation is over. There's nothing left to do except go home.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Making lists
I don't remember if I've mentioned it on my blog before or just on twitter, but my brother and sister-in-law are taking me on an Alaskan cruise this month! I fly to Vancouver (hello, Canada!) next Thursday evening and the ship departs on Friday. We'll be gone a whole week, with lots of fun excursions (including the world's longest zip line, a four-mile hike, a canoe trip, a horseback ride) and lots of time to kick back in a deck chair and watch the sea and land slide by. Also, whales.
Naturally, I'm trying my best to get everything ready well in advance. I've bought everything I need except a rainhat, which I plan to find tomorrow, and my carry-on bag is mostly packed already. I plan to pack my suitcase Tuesday night (I can't do it Wednesday night since I have to mow the lawn). I even bought a huge package of tissue paper so I can fold my cocktail dresses (for the formal dining evenings!) around sheets of it and minimize wrinkles.
But I keep thinking of things I have to do. So I've started making lists. My packing list even includes what I'll wear on the plane (jeans, blue striped shirt, green shoes, pearls, anklet). My to-do list includes important things like getting together with the woman who's coming in daily to take care of Jekyll, to give her a house key and make sure she knows where everything is, to trivial stuff like taking the trash out the morning I leave (it's not like I'm leaving for months; if I forget to take the trash out it won't be too nasty when I return).
The weekend after I return from Alaska, I'm turning right around and flying to Chicago for Worldcon too. So all the time I'm thinking about packing/preparing for Alaska, I'm also keeping the follow-up trip in mind.
And oddly enough, I've been reading up a storm. I can't settle to writing anything. I've read approximately 1,000 pages this week, maybe more, and I'm making inroads into my to-be-read shelves. I've read three books in the past few days that have been on the TBR shelf for literally years. And that's good, because after I buy a rainhat tomorrow I'm going to hit the bookstore.
Naturally, I'm trying my best to get everything ready well in advance. I've bought everything I need except a rainhat, which I plan to find tomorrow, and my carry-on bag is mostly packed already. I plan to pack my suitcase Tuesday night (I can't do it Wednesday night since I have to mow the lawn). I even bought a huge package of tissue paper so I can fold my cocktail dresses (for the formal dining evenings!) around sheets of it and minimize wrinkles.
But I keep thinking of things I have to do. So I've started making lists. My packing list even includes what I'll wear on the plane (jeans, blue striped shirt, green shoes, pearls, anklet). My to-do list includes important things like getting together with the woman who's coming in daily to take care of Jekyll, to give her a house key and make sure she knows where everything is, to trivial stuff like taking the trash out the morning I leave (it's not like I'm leaving for months; if I forget to take the trash out it won't be too nasty when I return).
The weekend after I return from Alaska, I'm turning right around and flying to Chicago for Worldcon too. So all the time I'm thinking about packing/preparing for Alaska, I'm also keeping the follow-up trip in mind.
And oddly enough, I've been reading up a storm. I can't settle to writing anything. I've read approximately 1,000 pages this week, maybe more, and I'm making inroads into my to-be-read shelves. I've read three books in the past few days that have been on the TBR shelf for literally years. And that's good, because after I buy a rainhat tomorrow I'm going to hit the bookstore.
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